The chip crisis stemming from halted deliveries from manufacturer Nexperia is likely to be over soon, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday on the sidelines of a climate summit in Belém, Brazil.
“It seems the way is now open for a resumption of deliveries,” Merz said.
There have been supply problems at Nexperia, the Dutch subsidiary of a Chinese company, after the Dutch government took control of the firm in Nijmegen in eastern Holland. The Dutch government blamed Chinese mismanagement for its move.
Beijing then halted exports of products from Nexperia factories in China, such as chips for the car industry, causing major concern in Germany that shortages could affect production.
But Merz said there were “positive signals that deliveries can resume again” after talks. “That can happen in the next hours,” he added.
The German chancellor said he had spoken to Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof in Brazil.
According to the Bloomberg news agency, Schoof stated that China had agreed to resume deliveries of Nexperia chips from factories in the country.
“We have been informed by China that they will allow the resumption of deliveries from Chinese factories of Nexperia,” Schoof said in Belém.
“We don’t yet know how quickly they will deliver, but I consider this an important message, and the chancellor has of course welcomed this message, as it is important for Germany.”
Ralf Brandstätter from German carmaker Volkswagen told the Handelsblatt newspaper that the Chinese Commerce Ministry had announced it would grant temporary exemptions.
“The first exports have already taken place,” said Brandstätter. “How quickly and sustainably this system works depends primarily on the stability of relations between the US and China.”
