AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Dutch government on Wednesday said it will expand its export controls on advanced semiconductor equipment from April 1, which chip equipment company ASML said it didn’t expect to affect its business.

Dutch national export licence requirements for semiconductor equipment were first introduced in 2023 under pressure from the U.S. to limit shipments to China, they usually have since been expanded several times.

The most recent measures would require firms to hunt export licences for a “very limited” variety of technologies resembling measuring and inspection equipment, the Dutch trade ministry said in a press release announcing the changes.

ASML said in response it didn’t see them having any additional impact on the guidance the corporate issued in December, when the U.S. government announced recent restrictions on semiconductor exports to China affecting chip equipment firms.

Details of the rule changes published within the country’s state legal newspaper on Wednesday showed the licensing requirements now include technologies used to search out tiny defects in wafers, and systems that improve measurements after deposition and etching – steps which are repeated continuously within the chipmaking process.

A spokesperson for the country’s trade ministry said minor changes to the foundations attributable to technical developments will occur occasionally.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer and Toby Sterling; editing by Jason Neely and Jane Merriman)