The Netherlands’ Economy Minister Vincent Karremans said on Friday that China could resume supply of chips to Nexperia customers in Europe and the rest of the world “over the coming days”, signalling that the Dutch government has “softened its stance” and raising hopes of a breakthrough in a row that has threatened to throw global automotive production into disarray.
“The Netherlands trusts that the supply of chips from China to Europe and the rest of the world will reach Nexperia’s customers over the coming days,” Karremans, a key figure behind the Dutch authorities’ seizure of Nexperia’s management on September 30, said in a statement.
His comments differed from earlier statements from Nexperia and the Chinese side.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday that “the Dutch government failed to take a constructive attitude or action”. Meanwhile, Nexperia’s head office in Nijmegen blamed its China unit, warning clients that the products from China might be substandard owing to the suspension of wafer supply from Europe.
The contradictory remarks from the different parties reflected that the whole situation’s “level of complexity has exceeded the expectations of both Nexperia and the Dutch government”, said Zhao Zhijiang, an assistant researcher at the Beijing-based think tank Anbound. “The Dutch government has softened its stance, likely hoping to bring this matter to a swift conclusion.”
Bloomberg News reported that the Dutch government was prepared to relinquish control of the company “as soon as next week” if Nexperia China resumed shipment.
