Dynamics of the global semiconductor trade and its dependencies

Abstract

The semiconductor industry typifies the international division of labor and exhibits significant structural differences in global trade in key product segments. The evolution of cross-border trade flows and dependency relationships, as well as trade organization patterns of manufactured products, equipment and materials for manufacturing, are investigated by constructing a global semiconductor trade relationship matrix and using the Gini coefficient and trade dependency index. It was found that: (1) the global semiconductor trade is highly spatially unbalanced, with materials and equipment trade in particular highly concentrated in a few countries on both the supply and demand sides; (2) China has replaced the US as the largest global semiconductor trade player and has shaped the regionalized system of manufactured goods and materials trade with East and Southeast Asian economies, but its equipment trade is highly dependent on Europe and the US; (3) the semiconductor production model has promoted the regionalization of the east and southeast Asia region in the trade of manufactured products and materials, and developed economies such as the US, the EU, Japan, and South Korea have maintained their monopolistic advantage in the trade of semiconductor equipment by building exclusive innovation networks and establishing trade barriers. The monopolistic nature of the semiconductor equipment trade and the regionalization of manufactured goods and materials have formed the characteristics of the global semiconductor trade and are likely to be further strengthened in future trade.