Catenaa, Wednesday, October 08, 2025- Chipmaker companies’ shares, including Applied Materials and ASML Holding, fell after a US House committee said the industry was boosting China’s semiconductor industry and supporting its military.
Applied Materials, ASML, Tokyo Electron, KLA, and Lam Research. “made sizable returns selling equipment to Chinese state-owned and military-linked companies,” the House China panel said on Tuesday, citing the companies’ sales data.
ASML fell as much as 7.1% in Amsterdam on Wednesday, the biggest intraday drop since July, before paring some of the losses. Tokyo Electron fell 2.8% in Tokyo.
Applied Materials fell about 1% in New York on Wednesday before recovering to gain about 1.2% by 10.30 am ET. KLA dropped 1.5%.
The committee called on President Donald Trump’s administration to “dramatically expand country-wide bans and licensing requirements” on tool exports to China.
It has no power to impose those restrictions itself, and the US Commerce Department doesn’t have to follow its recommendations, but the call to action raised fears that further export bans are in train.
The semiconductor industry has been a major target as tensions between China and the US ramp up, with the American government requiring greater restrictions on exports from the US and its allies.
Last month, the US scrapped Biden-era authorizations that had allowed ASML customers Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to get supplies to Chinese factories without seeking Washington’s permission each time.
China’s advance in manufacturing chips “poses threats” to US national security, the panel said. It accused the toolmakers of selling directly to entities known to both produce chips for the Chinese military and of supporting China’s efforts to build a chip-making industry.
ASML is the world’s only producer of cutting-edge lithography machines needed to produce high-end chips used in everything from electric vehicles to military gear.
China is ASML’s second-largest market after Taiwan, accounting for 27% of its net system sales in the second quarter, dropping from 41% last year as increasing trade restrictions hit its ability to sell into the market.
