On 2025-09-30 the Dutch government seized Nexperia, owned by China’s Wingtech, and around 2025-10-04 China imposed an export ban on finished semiconductors from Nexperia’s Chinese unit, which then halted wafer deliveries to its Dongguan assembly plant beginning 2025-10-26; these actions have disrupted supplies of mature-node components (MOSFETs, voltage regulators, power diodes), pushed up prices, and forced automakers such as Stellantis and Nissan to form crisis teams and face potential production slowdowns in Europe. The episode accelerates regionalization of semiconductor supply chains, tighter export controls and asset interventions, and exposes investment gaps—while AI, EV and clean-tech demand strains capacity—prompting firms to diversify sources, build redundant mature-node capacity and tighten contracts, and urging policymakers to rebalance industrial strategy and adapt trade rules to improve resilience.

On 2025-11-07 Reuters reported the European Commission is reconsidering delaying parts of the EU AI Act—implemented in August 2024—after lobbying from U.S. trade officials and major tech firms including Meta and Alphabet, with talks expected to culminate around 2025-11-19 and a final decision not before that date. The reconsideration centers on compliance burdens, trade friction with the U.S., and competitiveness. This matters because the AI Act is the world’s most comprehensive AI framework; delays could reshape global regulatory standards, affect market access and revenue for multinational tech companies, and complicate operational compliance and engineering roadmaps for firms building “high-risk” models. The Commission has not named which provisions may be paused; proposed delays may provoke civil society backlash and increased regulatory divergence between jurisdictions such as the U.S. and California (SB 53, signed 2025-09-29).