Here and Abroad, Governments Investing in Industry

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

I recently spoke with IPC’s Chris Mitchell, VP of global government relations, and Rich Cappetto, senior director for North American government relations. Rich joined IPC this summer after serving as chief customer officer of the U.S. House of Representatives; he holds a master’s degree in defense and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College.

I asked Chris and Rich to share their views on government investment in PCB manufacturing in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. They discuss how U.S. companies can tap into some of the federal and state funding, some of which remains unclaimed.

Nolan Johnson: Chris and Rich, from your roles in IPC Government Relations, I’m sure you have unique perspectives on the interrelationships between the economy and incentive legislation. What are you seeing at the moment?

Chris Mitchell: Here in the U.S., we talk mostly about the CHIPS Act. Obviously, there are other initiatives underway elsewhere in the world. Earlier this year, Europe finalized its own version of the CHIPS Act. Japan is in the process of making its own big investments in its domestic chip industry. There is a bit of global competition around leadership in the semiconductor industry. 

The question is always, “What does all of this have to do with the PCB and EMS supplier industries?” It would be great to be able to have a more positive message to send to the industry. But right now, it's hazy at best, and perhaps not all that consequential at worst, because we're still seeing this singular focus on the semiconductor industry with what I regard as only rhetorical overtures toward supporting the wider ecosystem. That’s certainly true here in the U.S. 

It's notable that the recent Calumet award was a DoD investment and not CHIPS Act money. Here in the U.S., apart from some very broad statements that the Secretary of Commerce has made about support for the PCB ecosystem, we're still not seeing any real specificity about how this act will be used to catalyze a resurgence across the industry. That’s a real missed opportunity because these funds could be utilized to create greater economic activity and technical capacity across the ecosystem. 

In Europe, it's a somewhat similar dynamic. Europe is additionally challenged by the fact that, unlike the United States, the financing of its Chips Act was muddier. The European Chips Act had a lot more to do with adjusting the competitive rules within the single market so that EU countries could allocate funding to support the chip industry. That has led to a question across the continent about how the various European governments will choose (or not) to make investments in the chip industry. 

To read this entire conversation, which appeared in the December 2023 issue of SMT007 Magazine, click here.