China has agreed to resume shipments of key chips for Europe’s automotive sector, the EU’s top trade official announced on Saturday. The Chinese government will grant exemptions to the strict licensing requirements that were introduced following the seizure of Dutch-based Nexperia, provided that purchasers promise to only use the semiconductors for civilian purposes, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said in a post on X. The Dutch government in October seized control of Nexperia, a subsidiary of Chinese firm Wingtech produces semiconductors that are widely used in the European automotive sector. Nexperia is headquartered in Nijmegen in the northeast of the Netherlands. The Dutch government announced on Thursday that the trade truce reached between Washington and Beijing would enable the resumption of exports of Nexperia’s chips from China. A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday that the Dutch government has yet to take any concrete actions concerning the seizure of Nexperia, and that Beijing had agreed to a request from the Dutch Economy Ministry to send officials to China for discussions. “The source and responsibility for the current chaos in the global semiconductor supply chain lie with the Netherlands,” said the Chinese ministry spokesperson. Šefčovič said he is in close engagement with both the Chinese and Dutch authorities in order to establish a “lasting, stable” consensus that ensures the full restoration of semiconductor flows.

The Chinese government has agreed to resume exports of key chips for the European auto sector, according to Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof. “We were informed by China that they will enable the resumption of supplies from Chinese factories from Nexperia,” Schoof told Bloomberg Friday on the sidelines of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil. The crisis was sparked in October when the Netherlands seized control of the Dutch-based chipmaker, a subsidiary of Chinese chip giant Wingtech, prompting Beijing to impose retaliatory export restrictions. Schoof told the newswire that the resolution was the result of cooperation between the Netherlands, Germany and the European Commission, as well as recent Dutch-Chinese diplomatic talks, alongside a trade detente between the U.S. and China. German auto firm Aumovio disclosed on an earnings call on Friday that it had been informed that it had received the necessary permissions to begin importing Nexperia’s chips.

China confirmed that its suspension of export controls on rare earths will extend to the EU, the bloc’s trade chief Maroš Šefčovič said early Saturday after high-level talks with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Friday. Beijing agreed this week to delay its latest round of rare earth export restrictions for one year, following a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday. This prompted the EU to swiftly seek assurances that the suspension would also cover the bloc. “China confirmed that the suspension of the October export controls applies to the EU,” Šefčovič wrote on X. “Both sides reaffirmed commitment to continue engagement on improving the implementation of export control policies,” he added. China has tightened its grip on critical minerals, expanding export controls on rare earths and other materials vital to the clean-tech and defense industries. The EU, which relies on China for about 99 percent of its rare earth supply, has been scrambling to reduce its dependency. “The EU welcomed China’s 12-month suspension of the relevant export controls published on 9 October 2025,” European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said in a statement. “This is an appropriate and responsible step in the context of ensuring stable global trade flows in a critically important area.”

Allies fed up with Donald Trump’s latest round of punishing tariffs and spending demands are hitting the president where it hurts — his favorite fighter jet. Spain, in the wake of a row with Washington over NATO’s new 5 percent defense spending goal, ditched its multibillion-dollar purchase of the stealthy F-35 fighter jet. Switzerland, reeling from steep U.S. tariffs, is facing increasing pressure across the political spectrum to drop plans for its own F-35 war planes. And India, frustrated at higher U.S. prices on its goods, has reportedly decided to pause efforts to buy American combat vehicles. The moves — all made in the past two weeks — show the potential consequences of Trump’s economic actions as they reverberate through allied capitals, forcing governments to reassess their defense ties with the United States. They also reinforce American industry fears that this new form of protectionism will spark retaliation, jeopardize arms sales and chip away at America’s dominance as the globe’s top defense supplier. While most allies aren’t rushing to pull out of long-planned purchases, the recent actions by the three countries show growing pockets of resistance, and some of the most concrete pushback yet, to Trump’s global trade maneuvers. The tariffs are “a big middle finger” to allies the U.S. has urged for years to buy American equipment, said Jim Townsend, a former Pentagon official who oversaw Europe and NATO policy. “All of these nations feel bruised by the United States.” The F-35, made by Lockheed Martin, is especially vulnerable to this sort of economic turbulence. Its parts come from more than 100 suppliers around the world, and big overseas orders help keep the price of each jet down. If countries pull out or cut back, costs go up for everyone. The combined price tag for Spain’s and Switzerland’s F-35 orders was about $15 billion for several dozen planes each. Spain’s decision not to pursue the F-35 could steer billions toward the Eurofighter Typhoon — made by the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain — and the Franco-German Future Combat Air System, a next-generation stealth fighter and drone system slated for the 2040s. Spanish officials cited the need for industrial sovereignty, stronger European supply chains and more reliable partners. Such moves are also politically useful from some European countries. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s response appeals to the government’s left-leaning base, according to a senior EU official granted anonymity to discuss sensitive political dynamics. “For Sánchez, it’s just very convenient to play Trump’s victim,” the person said. The Swiss deal to buy 36 F-35 jets squeaked through a 2021 referendum with just over 50 percent support, and new tariffs reignited the political fight. Swiss lawmakers pushed to cancel the purchase when U.S. tariffs hit 39 percent, but the government on Wednesday reaffirmed its intent to buy the jets and ordered a review. A decision is due in November. Swiss officials said they can’t pin down a final price because the U.S. has not agreed to one, leaving the contract open to swings in inflation, higher raw material costs and customs duties — which could add as much as $1.6 billion. Other prospective buyers, such as Portugal, have delayed decisions amid doubts over U.S. reliability. Lockheed Martin noted that the United Kingdom, Denmark and Belgium have each recently announced their intent to buy at least 10 F-35s. “Foreign military sales are government-to-government transactions, and this matter is best addressed by the U.S. or country governments,” Lockheed spokesperson Jacqueline Lorenzetti said. The White House defended Trump’s tariffs as an economic boon and noted that he pushed NATO’s defense spending pledge to 5 percent of GDP, which is expected to benefit U.S. arms makers. “President Trump has done more to support America’s military industrial base than any president in decades — including by selling American-made weapons to NATO allies, which will generate billions of dollars for American companies,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said. The loss of orders from Spain or even Switzerland would have little immediate impact on production, according to one former Pentagon official, who was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. Those aircraft wouldn’t reach the line for more than a year, and other customers could easily step in to take their place. But any sustained loss of foreign buyers could push prices higher across the fleet. That risk is piling pressure onto a problem that’s already hitting the F-35 program. Officials are rebuilding the Büchel Air Base in Germany — home to part of the country’s nuclear mission under NATO — to host more than three dozen F-35s. The price tag has jumped from $1.5 billion to nearly $2.3 billion. Trump’s mix of tariffs and public browbeating is also fueling the continent’s “Make in Europe” ambitions for weapons. But many European officials caution that in the short term, the EU’s defense industry is a long way from producing all the arms needed to replace U.S.-made hardware, meaning any shift toward self-reliance would have to be gradual. The repercussions could go much further than Europe. India, Reuters reported, is delaying U.S. arms purchases, including Stryker combat vehicles and Javelin anti-tank missiles, following Trump’s decision to double tariffs on Indian goods to 50 percent over its purchases of Russian oil. Indian officials denied the report as “false and fabricated,” but the story highlights rising tensions. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded to the tariffs by publicly reaffirming India’s “special and privileged strategic partnership” with Moscow. Billions of dollars’ worth of arms deals are in the U.S. government’s foreign military sales pipeline for New Delhi, making an Indian pullback challenging. “We’ve worked for more than a decade to strengthen our relationship with India,” said former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who led the U.S.-India Defense Technology and Trade Initiative in the Obama administration. “Slapping those huge tariffs on India is going to have very negative impacts on the relationship.” But supply chains for weapons are tricky and more nuanced than some of these decisions suggest. That’s especially true for the F-35, a sixth-generation fighter jet that stands out for its stealth, advanced sensors and versatility. “Even if there’s a new administration, Republican or Democrat, that wants to repair all this horrible damage, it’s going to take a long time to recover trust,” said Richard Aboulafia, managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory, a U.S.-based consulting firm for the defense industry. “And this is an industry built on trust.”