Netherlands suspends Nexperia takeover order as China eases export curbs — de-escalation could be welcome break for automotive industry

The Dutch government has suspended its emergency order to oversee chipmaker Nexperia, returning operational control to Chinese parent company Wingtech following a breakthrough in talks, according to reporting by Bloomberg.

Economic Affairs Minister Vincent Karremans announced the decision on Wednesday, November 19, saying the company “shows no signs of continuing the behavior that prompted my order, nor any intention to do so.” The suspension marks a notable de-escalation in a trade dispute that had begun to disrupt global supply chains and threaten production across the automotive sector.

Karremans originally invoked the Goods Availability Act in September, granting the Hague temporary powers to block or amend decisions at Nexperia over concerns that Chinese ownership posed a risk to continuity of supply. In response to the Dutch government’s actions, Beijing imposed export restrictions on parts from Nexperia’s packaging plant in Guangdong, which handles chips fabricated at its Nijmegen site and previously accounted for half of its global volume.

Those restrictions had immediate effects. Carmakers, including Honda and Volkswagen, were forced to adjust procurement as shipments from China stalled, squeezing the availability of logic chips and discrete components that are required in large quantities for modern automotive platforms. While most coverage of chip supply risk in recent years has focused on high-performance compute, the Nexperia case shows how vulnerable manufacturers remain to disruptions in mature-node supply chains.

Talks to resolve the standoff accelerated in early November and involved officials from China, the Netherlands, the European Union, Germany, and the United States. A key turning point came with the suspension of Wingtech founder Zhang Xuezheng from his post as Nexperia CEO, following a Dutch court ruling prompted by internal governance disputes. The Dutch government said it was reassured by both that court order and fresh evidence that export flows from Guangdong have resumed.

While the order is now suspended, it has not been revoked. Nexperia is still required to notify the government of any transfer of production assets or intellectual property. China’s Ministry of Commerce called the Dutch move a step in the right direction, but said the underlying “root cause” of the trade disruption — i.e., the fact that the order has not been fully revoked — has yet to be resolved. Nexperia, in a statement, said the decision was “important progress” and called for further cooperation between its Chinese and European operations for full restoration of the supply chain.

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