It’s Been an Interesting Year for IPC in Government Policy

Aug 21, 2023
| By chrismitchell@…

By Chris Mitchell, IPC Vice President, Global Government Relations

It has been said that August is “the bridge between how the year has been and how the year will end.”

In the spirit of taking a brief pause to rest and refresh, we thought we would share some thoughts on the year to date in IPC’s advocacy efforts on your behalf.

In short, 2023 has been a very interesting year for the electronics industry in the halls of government. So far this year, we have witnessed many policy developments that IPC and its members and allies have been advocating for years:

  • CHIPS for America: The U.S. Government launched the “CHIPS for America” program, including IPC-proposed commitments to devote some CHIPS Act funding to other parts of electronics ecosystem, including printed circuit boards (PCBs), IC substrates, and advanced packaging. A bipartisan team in Congress reintroduced a PCB Act to reinforce the effort. We’re continuing to keep up our advocacy for a “silicon-to-systems” approach.  
  • PCBs: U.S. President Biden issued a “presidential determination” that greater domestic production of PCBs is critical to national security. IPC has been a champion of more resilient, trusted, and secure defense electronics supply chains in all nations.
  • Electronics in Europe: The European Institutions reached agreement on the European Chips Act and launched an “Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI),” designed to support research, innovation, and “first industrial deployment” of microelectronics and communication technologies across the value chain. IPC is maintaining a fruitful, ongoing dialogue with the European Commission, and together with partners and stakeholders we have submitted a report with recommendations to bolster Europe’s PCB and EMS sectors.
  • Green Electronics: Acknowledging all of the efforts underway in all parts of the world to encourage a greener, more sustainable economy, IPC this year launched a Sustainability for Electronics Leadership Council and several Action Groups; published a white paper on the key sustainability issues facing our industry; and rallied the industry to face the prospect of partial or full bans on PFAS chemicals in the European Union and United States.  
  • Thought Leadership: In our role as the voice of electronics manufacturing, IPC released major reports on IC substrates; the European PCB and EMS sectors; and sustainability in electronics design and manufacturing, not to mention our regular economic outlook reports and industry sentiment surveys.

Over the next several months, the IPC GR Team will continue to advocate for you, your company, and the entire industry on all these issues and more. Our efforts may include meetings, calls, and letters with government officials; official comments in regulatory proceedings; and educational events, reports, social media posts, and media coverage.

We also need and welcome your active support and participation in our efforts. Here’s how you can stay informed and involved:

We thank you for your support and look forward to making more progress in the months ahead.