The Dutch government has fully withdrawn its emergency powers over chipmaker Nexperia, returning control to Chinese parent Wingtech and ending the tense standoff that had led Beijing to halt key automotive-chip shipments, Bloomberg reported. If tensions persisted, this would've sparked snarled automotive supply chains worldwide. The reversal marks a clear de-escalation and comes just weeks after the Trump-Xi meeting in South Korea helped cool broader trade tensions. 

The powers were initially invoked in September under a Cold War-era law, prompting Beijing to retaliate with export restrictions on chips from Nexperia's Guangdong plant, sparking shipment delays that hit automakers including Honda and Volkswagen.

Some of the first evidence of cooling tensions between the Netherlands and China emerged last Friday when Dutch Economy Minister Vincent Karremans stated that he expects chip supplies to Nexperia's customers in Europe and elsewhere to be resolved "in the coming days." 

Earlier on X, Economic Affairs Minister Vincent Karremans said the Netherlands is suspending its emergency order over Nexperia after constructive talks with Chinese officials and coordination with European and international partners. He noted that China has already taken steps to ensure chip supplies to Europe and beyond. 

Nexperia timeline (via BBG):

Our reporting:

Karremans' statement suggests that the Dutch miscalculated their trade spat with Beijing. This underscored how little leverage Europe actually has - and how quickly China can squeeze the fragile continent's already-failing automotive sector.