ASML says it sold 'absolutely nothing' in Europe in 2026
by MC995 on 9/25/2026, 1:49:06 PM
Comments
by: HPsquared
Semiconductor fabs involve a lot of hazardous chemicals, process changes and high energy consumption. Exactly the kind of thing European regulations tend to deter or slow down. Which is somewhat fine if there is nowhere else to build it, but if other places are easier, well...
9/25/2026, 2:20:04 PM
by: yomismoaqui
I'm european and I would buy an ASML t-shirt, will this move the needle enough?
9/25/2026, 2:17:19 PM
by: Kim_Bruning
So currently europe is exposed to russia-ukraine, us-iran, and shortly china-taiwan. This is not a great place to be in.
9/25/2026, 1:57:21 PM
by: t43562
It seems to be "dump on Europe" day which I'm sure is popular but lets just stop for a second and ask what the sales of ASML machinery to the US would be without the CHIPS act .... a massive subsidy. Aren't subsidies supposed to be a bad European thing??? I'm confused. Are we free market proponents or planned economy proponents?
9/25/2026, 2:48:38 PM
by: hn_submit
Europe is continually complaining about its dependency on Chinese steel, cars, electronics and semiconductors yet their carmakers are buying cheap Chinese steel instead of European steel and European semiconductor manufacturers are preferring cheap Chinese semiconductor equipment over ASML gear.<p>The European Commission wanted to put hefty tariffs on dumped Chinese steel but the carmakers sought an exemption. They don't care about European sovereignty, only about their profits. Penny wise and pound foolish. I doubt there will still be a European car industry in two decades or so.<p>Europe is a lost continent.
9/25/2026, 2:54:48 PM
by: petcat
> Another concern is that even advanced silicon produced in Ireland or at ESMC is then shipped to other regions for packaging, meaning that European companies have largely lost their ability to produce sophisticated chips entirely in Europe. In turn, this means that, for now, there is hardly any strategic point for European authorities to create demand for chips that are 'Made in Europe' because they are either not assembled in Europe, not produced in Europe, or not developed in Europe. We have no idea whether this is eventually going to change, but there are currently no signs that it will.<p>This is just such a dire situation to be in. Even USA has seen the writing on the wall regarding China-Taiwan which is why it has been strategically re-homing all the most advanced chip fab technology to Arizona [1].<p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TSMC_Arizona" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TSMC_Arizona</a>
9/25/2026, 2:26:27 PM
by: expedition32
The Netherlands has always put its economic chips on America and Asia.<p>Europe is just a geographic accident as far as the Dutch are concerned.
9/25/2026, 3:14:31 PM
by: okokwhatever
Amusement Park continent. And yes, I'm European and know what I'm talking about.
9/25/2026, 2:18:28 PM
by: bethekidyouwant
What is perhaps more important from ASML's standpoint is that none of the ongoing fab projects in Europe are leading-edge fabs set to use EUV and eventually High-NA EUV lithography scanners. The tools that European fabs use today and that new facilities are set to use in the future are mature tools that cost considerably less than advanced EUV or immersion DUV scanners. This is perhaps a concern for ASML, as the company is naturally interested in selling its more sophisticated and expensive equipment.<p>Missing from article is where they are selling which I assume is mostly Taiwan and America.
9/25/2026, 2:08:24 PM
by: ChrisArchitect
Earlier: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49804613">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49804613</a>
9/25/2026, 2:30:19 PM
by: tehjoker
I can't imagine it is cheap to get EUV machines these days. Maybe they don't want to get into a bidding war with America and Taiwan and are waiting for things to cool down?
9/25/2026, 2:12:42 PM
by: Culonavirus
They don't call us Europoors for nothing
9/25/2026, 2:03:23 PM
by: 2OEH8eoCRo0
[flagged]
9/25/2026, 2:10:56 PM
by: rvz
Europe has no money.
9/25/2026, 2:01:06 PM
by: joinHNtheysaid
Cultures that make, europe has lost that,imported a ton of culture that takes. Same as the us, empire might might be a ressource curse in disguise.
9/25/2026, 2:21:52 PM