Rethinking Semiconductor Global Production Networks

The Institute of Geography and Sustainability, the Faculty of Geosciences and Environment from the University of Lausanne, HEC Lausanne, and the Enterprise for Society Center (E4S) are pleased to invite Professor Henry Wai-chung Yeung to give a public lecture entitled ‘Rethinking Semiconductor Global Production Networks: From Geopolitics to Environmental Sustainability’ on Thursday 28 November 2024.

Based on his lead-authored chapter on semiconductors in Global Value Chain Development Report 2023 (WTO/ADB, October 2023) and Josh Lepawsky’s (2024) important work in iScience on the environmental risks of chipmaking, this lecture offers some key empirical observations on the highly contested and politicized nature of semiconductor global production networks since the US-China trade war and the Covid-19 pandemic.
In this capital-intensive manufacturing industry, governance and power dynamics are manifested differently from many other industries due to highly complex technology regimes, production network ecosystems, and, more recently, geopolitical imperatives. The industry is also confronted with immense environmental and sustainability challenges due to the very demanding manufacturing requirements in terms of water, electricity, waste treatment, and other issues.
While some of these critical dynamics had been in play ahead of the 2020s in China, Taiwan, and South Korea, their intensity and significance have become more apparent since the early 2020s. As more chipmaking fabs are being built in the US and Western Europe, these environmental challenges remain key governance and policy issues. This lecture ends with a discussion of some relevant future research agendas on technology, environmental resilience, and politics for the interdisciplinary studies of global production networks and global value chains.