Welcome to the European Parliamentary Research Service Podcasts.

In this podcast, we'll focus on global supply chains.

We'll analyze how dependent we are on them, the impact of the pandemic and what can be done at the European and the global level

to make these chains more resilient in the future.

From our phones to our microwaves or cars, most products nowadays are produced in a truly global factory,

designed in one country and assembled in another, with parts and components coming from different continents. The emergence of these global supply chains has fundamentally changed the way the global economy and goods manufacturing are organized.

And while trade conducted through global supply chains has fallen somewhat since the 2008-2010 global financial crisis, more than two-thirds of international trade

still involves transactions made possible by such chains.

And the EU is profoundly involved in these production chains, more so than most other countries,

and much more than both the United States and China.

But the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the weaknesses of this system.

Yes, it has.

As lockdowns extended across the globe, businesses shut down and international transport was brought to a halt.

Global supply chains experienced their first serious disruption,

and consumers quickly felt the effects, empty supermarket shelves, long delivery waiting lists.

Most supply chains recovered quickly, but when our economies started to bounce back,

global supply chains were put to the test again.

The surging demand, coupled with shortages of workers, ships, containers, air cargo space and clogged ports,

created a perfect storm, which affected every manufacturing sector, especially parts,

intermediate goods, and products moving from Asia to the EU and US.

Shortages of material and equipment have limited production for about two in five European manufacturers

and this situation creates wider macroeconomic risks.

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