Structural Consequences of Policy-Based Interventions on the Global Supply Chain Network

2026-04-13

AI Summary

This study investigates how geopolitical tensions and three trade policy strategies—Country Plus One, friendshoring, and reshoring—affect the structure of global electric vehicle (EV) supply chain networks and national clustering patterns. Employing complex network modeling and empirical data analysis, the research quantifies shifts in link density, cluster evolution, and product dependency under policy interventions. Findings reveal that friendshoring unexpectedly reinforces global connectivity but may elevate transaction costs; Country Plus One significantly enhances network redundancy; and reshoring faces pronounced implementation challenges in the EV sector due to the irreplaceability of critical materials and components. The results highlight substantial sectoral heterogeneity in policy effectiveness, particularly evident in upstream segments such as mining.

Technology Category

• Game Theory and Economic Paradigms: Coordination and Collaboration
• Data Mining & Knowledge Management: Graph Mining, Social Network Analysis & Community
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Scheduling under Uncertainty

Application Category

• Security and Privacy: Privacy-enhancing technologies
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Incentives in network design for Web infrastructures and ecosystems
• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Foundation models and LLMs for Web-related graphs

Abstract

As global political tensions rise and the anticipation of additional tariffs from the United States on international trade increases, the issues of economic independence and supply chain resilience become more prominent. The importance of supply chain resilience has been further underscored by disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine.In light of these challenges, ranging from geopolitical instability to product supply uncertainties, governments are increasingly focused on adopting new trade policies. This study explores the impact of several of these policies on the global electric vehicle (EV) supply chain network, with a particular focus on their effects on country clusters and the broader structure of international trade. Specifically, we analyse three key policies: Country Plus One, Friendshoring, and Reshoring. Our findings show that Friendshoring, contrary to expectations, leads to greater globalisation by increasing the number of supply links across friendly countries, potentially raising transaction costs. The Country Plus One policy similarly enhances network density through redundant links, while the Reshoring policy creates challenges in the EV sector due to the high number of irreplaceable products. Additionally, the effects of these policies vary across industries; for instance, mining goods being less affected in Country Plus One than the Friendshoring policy.

Problem

• supply chain resilience
• trade policy
• global supply chain
• economic independence
• geopolitical instability

Innovation

• supply chain resilience
• policy intervention
• global supply chain network
• friendshoring
• electric vehicle