Semiconductors Manufacturing

Debate between Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom and Viscount Camrose

Monday 18th September 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom (Con)]

My Lords, can my noble friend estimate what proportion of the semiconductors in our critical national infrastructure comes from countries that do not have our best interests at heart?

[Viscount Camrose (Con)]

The global integrated supply chain for semiconductors is of a scale and complexity that make any attempt to answer that question for any given semiconductor, given the sheer quantity of them and the number of companies that may or may not have contributed in some way along the supply chain, futile. I do not think any human being—or computer, for that matter—could possibly answer such a question. I am sorry.