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By Toby Sterling AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -The Dutch government has taken control of Chinese-owned computer chipmaker Nexperia, ratcheting up tensions with Beijing as a global fight brews over technology intellectual property, especially around semiconductors. The government said late on Sunday that it has intervened in Nijmegen-headquartered Nexperia, which manufactures chips for cars and consumer electronics. It cited worries about the possible transfer of technology to Nexperia's Chinese parent company, Wingtech.  The Hague invoked never-before-used powers under a Dutch law known as the "Availability of Goods Act." The decision led to a 10% fall in Wingtech's shares in Shanghai on Monday. The Dutch government will not take ownership of Nexperia, but it will now have the power to reverse or block management decisions it considers harmful. The company's regular production is continuing.  WINGTECH SAYS DECISION DRIVEN BY 'GEOPOLITICAL BIAS' U.S. President Donald Trump is ratcheting up pressure on Chinese tech firms as part of a broader trade war that saw him threaten 100% tariffs on China's exports last week. The U.S. and the Netherlands typically cooperate closely on computer chip industry export controls. A Dutch Economic Affairs Ministry spokesperson, however, said there was no U.S. involvement in its decision regarding Nexperia and the timing was "purely coincidental". Washington last month expanded a list of blacklisted firms seen as threats to national security to include subsidiaries. Wingtech had already been placed on the United States' "entity list" in December 2024 for its alleged role "in aiding China's government's efforts to acquire entities with sensitive semiconductor manufacturing capability." Nexperia, which is 100%-owned by Wingtech, said at the time that it would comply with the U.S. rules, though it said its operations were kept at arm's length from its Chinese parent. Wingtech called the Dutch government's intervention in Nexperia, once part of Dutch electronics group Philips, "excessive interference driven by geopolitical bias". Wingtech also alleged that non-Chinese Nexperia executives had tried to forcibly alter the company's equity structure through legal proceedings in a "cloaked power grab" on the company. A copy of an Amsterdam commercial court ruling dated October 7 and seen by Reuters showed that the court decided on October 1 to suspend Wingtech CEO Zhang Xuezheng from his position as executive director at Nexperia after finding "well founded reasons to doubt" the company was pursuing correct management policy or actions under Dutch civil law. It appointed Dutch businessman Guido Dierick to take Zhang's position with a "deciding vote", and transferred control of almost all of Nexperia's shares to a Dutch lawyer for management. The Dutch state and the company's labour council had supported the moves, the document showed. Wingtech could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday outside of normal business hours in China. Wingtech said in a statement on Sunday that it was consulting with lawyers and seeking government support to "protect the legitimate rights and interests of the company". Nexperia, which Wingtech bought for $3.63 billion in 2018, said it complied with all relevant laws and regulations. COURT ORDERED WINGTECH CHAIR SUSPENDED FROM NEXPERIA BOARD In its statement, the Dutch government said that administrative problems at Nexperia posed a threat to the company's "crucial technological knowledge" without elaborating. "The loss of these capabilities could pose a risk to Dutch and European economic security," it said. Nexperia is one of the world's largest makers of simple computer chips such as diodes and transistors, though it also develops more advanced technologies such as "wide gap" semiconductors used in electrical settings and useful for electric cars, chargers and AI data centres. Wingtech said in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange on Monday that its control over Nexperia would be temporarily restricted due to the Dutch order and court rulings, affecting decision making and operational efficiency.  In addition to the United States, Wingtech has had run-ins before with other Western governments over its operations, with Britain ordering it to divest ownership of a facility in Newport. The Netherlands scrutinised Nexperia's purchase of startup Nowi in 2023. (Reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam; Additional reporting by Samuel Shen and Brenda Goh in Shanghai. Editing by Edmund Klamann, Michael Perry, Joe Bavier and Matthew Lewis)

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(Corrects name spelling in sixth paragraph) By Francesco Canepa and Howard Schneider FRANKFURT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. companies and consumers are bearing the brunt of the country's new import tariffs, early indications show, contradicting assertions by President Donald Trump and complicating the Federal Reserve's fight against inflation. Trump famously predicted that foreign countries would pay the price of his protectionist policies, wagering that exporters would absorb that cost just to keep a foothold in the world's largest consumer market. But academic studies, surveys and comments from businesses show that through the first months of Trump's new trade regime it is U.S. companies that are footing the bill and passing on some of it to the consumer – with more price hikes likely. "Most of the cost seems to be borne by U.S. firms," Harvard University professor Alberto Cavallo said in an interview to discuss his findings. "We have seen a gradual pass-through to consumer prices and there's a clear upward pressure." A White House spokesperson said "Americans may face a transition period from tariffs" but the cost would "ultimately be borne by foreign exporters." Companies were diversifying supply chains and bringing production to the United States, the spokesperson added. WHO IS EATING THE TARIFFS? Cavallo and researchers Paola Llamas and Franco Vazquez have been tracking the price of 359,148 goods, from carpets to coffee, at major online and brick-and-mortar retailers in the United States. They found that imported goods have become 4% more expensive since Trump started imposing tariffs in early March, while the price of domestic products rose by 2%. The biggest increases for imports were seen in goods that the United States cannot produce domestically, such as coffee, or that come from highly penalised countries, like Turkey. These price hikes, while material, have been generally far smaller than the tariff rate on the products in question – implying that sellers were absorbing some of the cost as well. Yet U.S. import prices, which don't include tariffs, showed foreign exporters have been raising their prices in dollars and passing on to their U.S. buyers part of the greenback's depreciation against their currencies. "This suggests foreign producers are not absorbing much if any of the U.S. tariffs, consistent with prior economic research," researchers at Yale University's Budget Lab think-tank said in a blog post. National indices of export prices paint the same picture. The cost of goods exported by China, Germany, Mexico, Turkey and India have all risen, with Japan the only exception.   FULL IMPACT OF TARIFFS YET TO BE FELT Adapting to Trump's tariffs – a still-incomplete set of levies that pushed import taxes from an average of around 2% to an estimated 17% – is still underway. It is seen taking months longer as exporters, importers and consumers jostle over who pays duties worth round $30 billion per month. "We shouldn't expect this to be a one-time jump but rather firms are trying to find ways to soften the blow," and stretch price increases out over time, Cavallo added. European carmakers have looked – so far – to absorb more of the price impact, but consumer firms including Tide detergent-maker Procter & Gamble, Ray Ban-maker EssilorLuxottica and Swiss watchmaker Swatch have hiked prices. Around 72% of companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa tracked by Reuters flagged price hikes since Trump's trade salvoes started, a Reuters tracker shows. Only 18 companies have warned on profit margins. Separate Reuters analyses of e-commerce websites Shein and Amazon were already showing robust price increases for Chinese products sold in the United States, ranging from clothing to electronics. China's so-called "anti-involution" policy, under which producers are encouraged to scale back competition and even cut capacity in key sectors, could add fuel to the fire by curbing the supply of goods such as solar-power equipment. That has all set the scene for higher inflation in the United States. The Fed cut its benchmark rate last month on concerns the job market was weakening but policymakers are split over whether or not tariff-driven inflation will likely fade. The Fed's newest governor, Stephen Miran, on leave from the Trump administration, argues the tariffs are not inflationary and has brushed off concerns about what he called "relatively small changes in some goods prices." A Boston Fed "back of the envelope" calculation projected tariffs would push up core inflation by 75 basis points. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said tariffs accounted for perhaps 30-40 basis points of the latest core inflation reading of 2.9% but the effect should be "relatively short-lived." The Peterson Institute for International Economics estimated that inflation over the next year would be 1 percentage point higher than if tariffs hadn't been raised but would then fall back. GLOBAL TRADE SEEN SUFFERING AS TARIFFS BITE The rest of the world, however, has no reason to celebrate. As U.S. consumers struggle to keep up with rising prices, demand for exports is likely to slow. An S&P Global survey of purchasing managers at companies all over the world showed new export orders contracting at an increasing pace since June. European Union exports to the United States fell by 4.4% from the prior year in July, the latest month for which data was available, and in the bloc's former powerhouse Germany they were down 20.1% in August. The World Trade Organization, too, slashed its forecast for global merchandise trade volume growth next year to just 0.5%, citing a delayed impact from U.S. tariffs. U.S. shipment data tracked by German think tank the Kiel Institute also showed a clear downtrend. While that all may partly reflect strong front-loading of orders earlier in the year in anticipation of tariffs, it is also prompting caution about the trade outlook. Dutch bank ING expected a 17% reduction in EU goods exports to the U.S. over the next two years, costing the bloc 30 basis points of GDP growth. "The expected impact of U.S. tariffs hasn’t materialized yet," Ruben Dewitte, an economist at ING, said. "We anticipate these effects will become more visible in the coming months." (Additional reporting by Marius Zaharia in Hong Kong; Jarrett Renshaw; Juveria Tabassum and Arriana Mclymore in Bengaluru; Adam Jourdan in London; Editing by Mark John and Andrea Ricci)

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(Reuters) -NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said on Monday it will cut nearly 550 jobs as part of a restructuring, not related to the current U.S. government shutdown. The layoffs will affect employees across JPL's technical, business and support areas as part of a reorganization that began in July , it said in a statement on its website. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

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(Reuters) -Bombardier added a new order from Comlux Aviation for its Global 8000 business jet to its backlog, the Canadian planemaker announced on Monday during the National Business Aviation Association's annual conference. The company is still on track this year to deliver the first Global 8000, which it claims is the fastest purpose-built business jet in the world. Also on Monday, the company said the jet had set a new top speed at 0.95 mach, or about 729 miles per hour. The company has not yet revealed who will take the first Global 8000 delivery later this year. Comlux, a Swiss-based charter airline and aviation services company, is slated to take possession of its Global 8000 in 2026, according to Bombardier. (Reporting by Dan Catchpole in Seattle, Editing by Chris Reese)

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