Statistics Netherlands | CBS
Source published: 24 July 25
New CBS Research on Globalization in Times of Geopolitical Tensions
Global crises disrupt world trade. CBS provides insights into these developments and their impact on society.
Global crises or incidents that temporarily disrupt world trade have been occurring rapidly in recent years. Think of Brexit, the corona pandemic, the energy crisis, and high inflation. Now there is the new course of the US government regarding international trade. CBS aims to respond with reliable, objective information and provide insights into topics that governments and society need. Marjolijn Jaarsma is the program manager from the CBS Multi-Year Program 2024-2028 for the theme Globalization and Value Chains. She explains it further. By establishing the theme Globalization and Value Chains as one of the societal challenges that the Netherlands faces, CBS responds to the external need for more and coherent statistical information on this theme. CBS is developing new information and presenting existing information in a more coherent manner. The world around us has become increasingly complex, and developments are happening rapidly.
New Projects
After various external consultation rounds with strategic partners such as the Dutch Central Bank and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economic Affairs, a project portfolio has been initiated, in addition to the ongoing programs and the covenant previously agreed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Jaarsma: ‘In good coordination with various external stakeholders, we have formulated several new projects and preliminary studies. These involve projects and initiatives that require extra effort or are exploratory in nature. We aim to create a longer consistent time series of value chain base data and want to work towards accelerating this framework of economic interdependencies next year. This way, researchers will not only be able to describe a longer time period but also respond more quickly to current developments. Additionally, we are working on consistency between statistics, for example, about multinationals, which will improve comparability.’
Identifying Bottlenecks in Chains
According to Jaarsma, the goal is to better map where bottlenecks can occur in national and international chains and what consequences this may have for the involved sectors, employment, or regions. ‘Currently, for example, there are Chinese export restrictions on rare earth metals and other critical materials such as gallium or germanium. China controls a large part of the extraction and processing of such raw materials, which are essential for the defense industry or for making semiconductors, batteries, or magnets. CBS can clarify which sectors are highly dependent on such imports, which countries these imports come from, what characterizes these sectors, and whether these imports are intended for the Dutch consumer or for export production.’
Critical Raw Materials
Specific attention is therefore given to the dependence on critical raw materials. The European Commission places great importance on the security of supply of such materials and a reduced dependence on countries like China. For example, semiconductors, magnets, or batteries are crucial for the functioning of our digital world and indispensable in achieving the EUs goal of being fully circular and climate-neutral by 2050. Jaarsma: ‘In this context, we are explicitly seeking collaboration with a knowledge institute such as TNO by contributing to the Dutch Materials Observatory (NMO). The information and knowledge that becomes available through this platform helps companies and policymakers to mitigate supply risks and make chains less vulnerable. A significant CBS publication on critical raw materials with the latest insights on usage and interdependencies will be released at the end of September.’
Current Events
Previously, global crises or incidents also occurred that temporarily disrupted world trade. Jaarsma: ‘Think of the financial crisis in 2008-2009. But the speed at which developments have followed one another in recent years is unprecedented. Now, for example, there is the new course of the US government regarding international trade and all its consequences. Since we owe a third of our prosperity to our export of goods and services, a disruption is not only directly noticeable in our collective wallet. It also affects trust, earning capacity, and the competitiveness of the Netherlands. Whereas in the past, economists mainly discussed specialization, efficiency, and low production costs, we are now all talking about import tariffs, international interdependencies, and geopolitical tensions.’
Globalization and Value Chains
The projects and activities initiated by CBSs Multi-Year Program complement the existing programs and projects surrounding Globalization and Value Chains from CBSs Globalization expertise center. There is the Globalization Covenant between CBS and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which lays the foundation for academic empirical research as well as regular publications such as the Internationalization Monitor and Netherlands Trading Nation. Additionally, regular supplementary statistical research takes place, often funded by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economic Affairs. ‘These studies will remain of great importance in the coming years to gain insight into what is happening globally and in the Netherlands in terms of trade,’ says Jaarsma.
Source last updated: 24 July 25
Published on Openrijk: 24 July 25
