A leading German automotive supplier said it was again allowed to ship semiconductors that Beijing had barred for export.
After weeks of uncertainty over the supply of chips crucial to making automobiles, there appeared to be a thaw this week in a dispute over the semiconductors that had threatened to stop production at factories around the world.
On Friday, a leading German automotive supplier that makes sensors, brakes and other electronic systems for companies including BMW, Stellantis and Volkswagen said it was again allowed to ship semiconductors made by a Dutch company, Nexperia, from its factories in China.
The announcement came a day after the Dutch government said that it welcomed the resumption of supplies from Nexperia, which is based in the Netherlands but owned by the Chinese company Wingtech.
Other leading auto suppliers, as well as the car companies that depend on them, had warned that without Nexperia’s chips, they might have to slow or stop production.
The Dutch government seized control of Nexperia in late September, citing concerns that the technology could be moved out of Europe, posing a security threat. The Chinese retaliated by ordering a stop to all exports of Nexperia’s chips — most of which are assembled in China.
Nexperia produces thousands of chips used to make other products as well, like washing machines, vacuum cleaners, night vision devices, radars and tanks.
Documents from a court in Amsterdam showed that U.S. officials had pressured the Dutch government over the company’s ownership, amid President Trump’s trade war with China. A statement from the White House last week said that Mr. Trump had talked about Nexperia in his meeting with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping.
European trade officials met this week with their Chinese counterparts to find a solution to the issue, and late Thursday, the Dutch government indicated that one had been found.
“Given the constructive nature of our talks with the Chinese authorities, the Netherlands trusts that the supply of chips from China to Europe and the rest of the world will reach Nexperia’s customers over the coming days,” the Dutch economy minister, Vincent Karremans, said in a statement.
Aumovio, an automotive supplier based in Frankfurt, said on Friday that it had resumed shipments from China of Nexperia’s chips, and the parts that they are built into.
“We have received written approval to be exempted from Nexperia export controls out of China,” Philipp Von Hirschheydt the chief executive of Aumovio, said in an call with analysts.
Last week, Volkswagen had warned that the shortages caused by the lack of chips could lead it to limit production.
Bosch and ZF, two other major automotive suppliers in Germany, were taking steps to place some workers on short-term contracts and scale back production because of a lack of chips, even as they scrambled to find replacements.
But Aumovio said that it now expected the resumed shipments would arrive soon enough to prevent a halt in production.
“We assume that at least in the short term, we are not going to have any interruption of process and production,” Mr. Von Hirschheydt said.