Dutch Seize Chinese-Owned Chipmaker in First Use of 1952 Law

The Dutch government seized control of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia, using an emergency Cold-War era law for the first time in a move that further aggravated European trade tensions with Beijing.

The “highly exceptional” decision to invoke the Goods Availability Act was taken to ensure Europe retains unfettered access to chips made by Nexperia, a Dutch semiconductor unit of China’s Wingtech Technology Co., the government said in a statement.

The Sept. 30 order, which was announced Sunday, came a day after the Trump administrationexpanded US sanctions to include subsidiaries of blacklisted companies and underscores growing scrutiny of ...