Renewed outbreaks of COVID-19 in Asia are compounding the global supply chain problems that began at the onset of the pandemic and shutdown measures last year. The latest wave of infections in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries has led to closures of plants and ports, causing severe disruptions in the supply of semiconductors and raw materials. Economists and supply chain experts predict such shortages will continue into 2022, adding to inflation pressures. Labor scarcity and supply chain bottlenecks caused by the Delta variant are not only crippling businesses in Asia but are also having knock-on effects in many countries, including the United States. “Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines together account for about 6 percent of global exports, but their dominance in electronics lends them a large impact on countries like the U.S. and China,” Vaibhav Tandon, economist at Northern Trust wrote in a recent report. “Malaysia has become a …