Europe’s Next Crisis Involves a Tech Company You’ve Never Heard Of

Germany’s economy minister, Katherina Reiche, held crisis talks with car manufacturers yesterday over an imminent industrial crisis.

Nexperia is a Dutch-based computer chip manufacturer owned by the Chinese company Wingtech. Egged on by the U.S., Dutch authorities seized control of the company on September 30 to ensure “the company’s interests, its future as a Dutch and European company, and/or [preserve] this crucial value chain for Europe.”

Nexperia may be based in the Netherlands, but most of its manufacturing occurs in China. China responded by blocking the export of most of its chips. EuroIntelligence wrote this morning that this “has triggered a major supply chain crisis in Europe, potentially on the scale as last saw during the pandemic.” A study by the Austria-based Pewave concluded Nexperia’s chips are used by:

• 100 percent of leading European aviation and defense companies
• 95 percent of the European mechanical industry
• 86 percent of top European medical-technology firms
• 49 percent of European automotive businesses

German car manufacturers could be forced to shut down production lines within 10 to 20 days, Bild reported. U.S. manufacturers are expected to start running out of chips next month.

China is also restricting the sale of rare-earth magnets, used heavily in electric vehicles, as well as in the electronics and small electric motors (e.g. windshield wipers) of other vehicles.

Some takeaways:

• Once again, we see the fragility of modern supply chains. Whether it’s a global pandemic, a single ship accident blocking the Suez Canal, or a crisis in a company you’ve never heard of, any one of myriad unexpected events can plunge modern manufacturing into chaos.
• The crisis is also a warning about the danger of selling out to China. Nexperia was part of another Dutch company, nxp, until 2017, when it was carved off and sold to Chinese investors. For years we’ve been told there’s little risk to such sales as the headquarters remains in its original country and the business can be seized back in an emergency. Such an emergency is occurring now, and look how that is turning out.
• This is also causing Europe to think carefully about its role in the world. The trade war between America and China is heating up, and this is just one of many ways that European industry is being caught in the crossfire. European leaders are wondering if they’d be better off siding with China.

But turning on America won’t be easy. The U.S. bankrolls Europe’s defense. But as the Europeans rush to build their own defense capabilities, watch for them to more aggressively side with China on trade.

Gerald Flurry has written about the Bible’s many prophecies of a European power attacking America and of America being besieged:

That is where China and the giants of Asia enter the picture. … [C]onsidering that China has come to possess most of the world’s strategic sea gates (which, ironically, at one time were held by Britain and America), we believe there may be a brief alliance between the German-led Holy Roman Empire and certain Asian powers (Russia, China, Japan—the kings of the east). Should Europe, the resurrected Holy Roman Empire, find a way to take advantage—even for a moment—of key resources and strategic holdings of China, Russia and Japan, it would have more than enough power to besiege the Anglo-Saxon nations and enslave them.

Watch for these economic struggles to transform Europe politically, further motivate its military buildup, turn it against America, and lead to an alliance with China.