Italian Prime Minister Calls For Europe's Autonomy In Semiconductor Chip Production

Europe should strive for decreasing its dependence on other regions in the production of semiconductor chips, a key component of electric cars, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Wednesday

ROME (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th October, 2021) Europe should strive for decreasing its dependence on other regions in the production of semiconductor chips, a key component of electric cars, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Wednesday.

"Europe's share in global semiconductor production declined from 44% in 1990 to 9% in 2021. We increasingly depend on supplies from non-European countries. When the supply slows down or stops, like it happened in the past few months, companies may be forced to stop or significantly slow down their production. The European Union intends to produce 20% of the world's semiconductors by 2030," the prime minister told the Italian upper house ahead of the EU leaders summit.

Draghi pointed to China and the United States as examples of countries where government subsidies for the production of semiconductor chips range from 30% to 60%.

He reaffirmed Italy's support for the European Chips Act, which the Commission proposed as a tool to advance the bloc's technological capacity by boosting research, production and international cooperation.

The global supply chain of semiconductor chips was disrupted as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic when a number of factories producing them had to shut down in Southeast Asia, a key microchip production hub. The shortage was severely felt by leading global automakers from Japan's Toyota to the US General Motors and Ford which were forced to slash production due to chip shortages.