Netherlands Uses Goods Availability Act to Take Nexperia Control

The Dutch government on Sunday invoked a rarely used emergency law to take temporary control of Nexperia, the Netherlands based semiconductor maker owned by China’s Wingtech, citing what it described as acute signals of serious governance shortcomings that could threaten the continuity and safeguarding of crucial technological knowledge on Dutch and European soil. The intervention, announced by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, allows the government to block or reverse company decisions while regular production continues.

The measure was taken under the Goods Availability Act, a statute intended to ensure supply of critical goods during exceptional circumstances. The ministry said the intervention was needed to prevent a scenario in which Nexperia’s chips could become unavailable during an emergency and to protect Dutch and European economic security. The statement did not specify the precise governance concerns it had identified.

Under the order, the Dutch government can suspend or undo decisions by Nexperia’s management that are judged potentially harmful to the company’s future as a Dutch and European enterprise or to preservation of the critical value chain. Officials said...