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American Made Advocacy: Long-time Challenges Confront a New Administration

A new year didn’t just mean cold weather across the country, it also meant a change to the political environment facing America’s manufacturers. Across the entire federal government, there will be changes in personnel, structure, and governing philosophy. This means those of us who care about what happens in Washington will need to adjust our strategies and tactics to match a new reality. Here’s how that looks across the federal ecosystem.

At the Pentagon
America’s warfighters depend on modern microelectronics to fight, win, and come home safely. DoD investments in recent years have reflected this and we have no reason to believe that will change. The Pentagon’s industrial base study identified printed circuit boards (PCBs) as a critical component for which we lack sufficient manufacturing capacity to meet projected needs. Military leaders should continue to use the Defense Production Act to address this issue. Depending on adversarial countries for the components inside the defense technologies that float, fly, and fight is bad policy and dangerous practice. As new Defense Department political appointees arrive, PCBAA will connect with them and continue the great partnership our association has developed with key agencies within the Pentagon over the past four years.

At the Commerce Department
In the last administration, there was unprecedented activity at the Commerce Department. Through the CHIPS and Science Act, they disbursed nearly $52 billion in federal funds to reduce our dependence on foreign semiconductors. That investment in American-made semiconductors is paying off as new fabs come online and expand U.S. market share.

As anyone knows who follows the microelectronics supply chain, the CHIPS Act missed substrates and PCBs. As you know, “chips don’t float.” To function, semiconductors need substrates and PCBs.

The new SCALE tool released by the Department in September uses 41 different sensors to detect vulnerabilities in supply chains across industries. They identified low sustainability for printed circuit boards, meaning that few, if any, alternatives are available if the supply chain is disrupted. The new team at Commerce has a tremendous opportunity to address this critical gap in the microelectronics supply chain. Unless America builds out the entire technology stack—chips, substrates, and PCBs—we will remain dependent on brittle supply chains and foreign nations for the technologies that power our economy.

At the White House
The second Trump administration promises to be very different than the first. Indications are that there will be an early focus on policies that affect the global competitive economic environment. American companies have struggled to compete with countries that subsidize their PCB industries. We welcome a focus on American manufacturing coupled with a wait-and-see attitude on tariffs and trade restrictions. We continue to believe that incentives are the most powerful tool to bring back and expand America’s PCB capacity. We look forward to working with the Trump administration to make PCBs in America again.

On Capitol Hill
The new Republican majorities in the House and Senate are focused on early victories for President Trump, especially in the tax arena. The Ways & Means Committee, under Chair Jason Smith, is building a massive legislative package to extend individual and corporate tax cuts during the first 100 days of this new administration.

This is an opportunity for American-made PCBs. We have long advocated for a 25% tax credit for those purchasing PCBs made in America. This would create a strong demand signal visible to suppliers, OEMs, and investors. That’s why a group of executives from PCBAA and IPC member companies recently gathered in Washington, D.C., to lobby lawmakers and emphasize the opportunity for tax incentives that would transform the domestic PCB market.

In times of major shifts in government focus, it’s important for industries like ours to stand united and advocate for policies that will benefit our customers, consumers, and our national security. I’m confident that if our industry is organized and presents a united front to legislators and policymakers, their decisions will move markets. We must stay focused and consistent in our messaging which will ensure that we win the understanding and support of the new administration.

If you are ready to get off the sidelines and join this fight, I’m eager to speak with you.

This column originally appeared in the February 2025 issue of PCB007 Magazine.