The Dutch government seized control of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia, using an emergency Cold-War era law to ensure Europe retains unfettered access to its technology while risking retaliation from Beijing.
Nexperia, the European semiconductor unit of China’s Wingtech Technology Co. is a key supplier to the automotive and consumer electronics industries. The Sept. 30 court order invoked the Goods Availability Act for the first time, a piece of legislation enacted more than 70 years ago to ensure access to critical products in emergencies.