The European Union is preparing to walk back part of its own sanctions playbook. Brussels plans to propose a temporary exemption for Chinese semiconductor manufacturer Yangzhou Yangjie Electronic Technology Co. from its 20th package of sanctions against Russia, after European automakers warned that their chip inventories were running dangerously low.
The exemption, reported by Bloomberg and Reuters on May 21, 2026, would last several months, buying carmakers time to find alternative suppliers.
How sanctions crashed into supply chains
The EU adopted its 20th sanctions package on April 23, 2026. Yangjie Electronic landed on the restricted list after EU officials determined the company had supplied dual-use goods to Russia’s military-industrial complex. Dual-use, in this context, means components that work in both civilian products and military applications.
European automakers didn’t take long to sound the alarm. Industry representatives indicated that production halts could materialize within weeks if semiconductor supplies remained disrupted.
