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American Made Advocacy: Reshoring—About Trust, Not Just Geography

In today’s chaotic political environment, you might have missed the fact that  Congress allocated nearly $3 billion¹ to rip out and replace key components in America’s telecommunications networks. The funding is to remove equipment from networks nationwide because of cyberattacks on internet routers and cellular networks enabled by a Chinese company that makes more than half of the routers sold in the U.S. We know from prior experience and similar transgressions that we cannot trust that Chinese components aren’t being used for nefarious purposes.

Microelectronics are the backbone of America’s critical infrastructure—from our energy grids and transportation networks to our healthcare systems and communication platforms. Our reliance on advanced technology is greater every day as is our vulnerability to sophisticated attacks from state sponsored groups and other bad actors.

This threat is not theoretical. In recent years, intelligence reports have underscored how foreign adversaries have leveraged compromised components to mount cyber-espionage campaigns and sabotage efforts. By embedding hidden functionalities into microelectronic components, attackers could potentially disable power grids, water systems, and air traffic control systems, or disrupt communication networks during crises. These alarming possibilities highlight the urgent need for robust measures to ensure that only trusted, secure microelectronics are deployed across our critical infrastructures.

Malicious actors are targeting any weak link they can find, or they create opportunities to insert harmful code or hardware components during the manufacturing process. Such embedded threats can serve as covert backdoors, allowing hostile entities to infiltrate critical systems, exfiltrate sensitive data, or even disrupt vital services at a moment’s notice.

After years of warnings, policymakers in Washington finally confronted the uncomfortable but inescapable truth that microelectronics sourced from adversaries present a national security risk. If those microelectronics exist in key infrastructure, they need to be removed, and future systems must be built with trusted alternative sources. Where are the trusted sources? They are in the U.S., albeit diminished, as much of our electronics manufacturing has been outsourced to Asia over the past three decades.

In addition to removing Chinese content, Congress also needs to support American manufacturing of microelectronics, including printed circuit boards and IC substrates, to realize the promise of the CHIPS Act and support the entire technology stack required for electronic system functionality in the U.S.

An unexamined global microelectronics supply chain exposes our essential systems to potential exploitation. Every company buying components needs to look deep into their supply chain to be sure they have not unwittingly created an opportunity for our adversaries.

For the sake of our national and economic security, organizations like the Printed Circuit Board Association of America (PCBAA) will continue to press the government to adopt supply chain options that prioritize domestic manufacturing to make microelectronics we can trust.

If you are a manufacturer, assembler, or materials provider, please join us and help reinvigorate the domestic PCB industry by educating, advocating, and supporting legislation that emphasizes the need to reshore manufacturing and restore a capacity we’ve seen erode over the last three decades. Please visit pcbaa.org for information on how to join our organization and our efforts to strengthen the U.S. PCB market.

References

1. “Congress funds removal of Chinese telecom gear as feds probe home routers risks,” The Washington Post, Dec. 19, 2024.

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