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American Made Advocacy: Supporting the Entire PCB Ecosystem—Materials to OEMs

With the addition of RTX to PCBAA’s membership roster, we now represent the interests of companies in the entire PCB ecosystem. From material providers to OEMs, the insights of our collective members help us educate, advocate, and support legislation and policy favorable to America’s microelectronics manufacturers. The industry veterans who lead these companies provide valuable perspective, and their accumulated wisdom makes us an even stronger association.

PCB Migration Overseas
The past several decades have been tough for the PCB industry. The offshoring was profound, and while other nations consistently subsidized their own growth, in the U.S., there was no congressional action taken to reverse this migration. It was not until this decade that the lack of U.S. manufacturing capacity for semiconductors (chips) and competition with China caught legislators’ attention. New semiconductor fabs are rising in places like Arizona and Ohio, but there has been no similar government investment for PCBs except, thankfully, at the Department of Defense, where the need for secure and trusted PCBs has driven over $100 million of investment via the Defense Production Act.

The growth in the defense and aerospace portion of the American PCB industry is important, but the U.S. represents only 4% of the global industry. Our domestic production can currently provide the DoD with what is needed to serve the high-technology national defense systems our men and women in uniform need to do their jobs.

That is where the good news ends.

Beyond Defense
Beyond defense, we no longer produce the PCBs embedded in our critical infrastructure. Every time you turn on a light, open a faucet, go to an ATM, or make a cellphone call, the systems that support these functions are all enabled by and populated with PCBs. The problem is that those PCBs are more than likely to come from sources we cannot fully trust. For example, recent news stories demonstrate the danger. Reuters revealed that rogue communication devices were found in Chinese solar power inverters1. Reuters also reported on unexplained electronic components in imported equipment for Denmark's energy supply network concerning printed circuit boards2. Another capability was found in the electronics built into cranes unloading cargo in one of our largest ports3. A “phone home” functionality could provide a way for the originators to control not just solar panels, but also air traffic control systems, cellular communication, banking, and medical systems.

Taking steps to address this vulnerability is a national security and economic imperative. We should not wait until the first major attack occurs to get serious about this. Protecting the U.S. from what could be a catastrophic disruption across the country will require increased manufacturing and rigorous cybersecurity.

Whole-of-government Approach
Leaders at the Pentagon have long recognized the dangers of foreign dependency on the microelectronics that power our defense systems. What has been missed on Capitol Hill are the links connecting defense systems and critical infrastructure. Congress should move beyond the defense and aerospace silo when drafting legislation. The DoD’s approach should be duplicated across the whole of government by investing in the PCB industry and incentivizing the purchase of American-made PCBs.

Securing our critical infrastructure means investing in American microelectronics manufacturing. Without that investment, we continue to be vulnerable to unfair foreign competition. The U.S. government should take an aggressive approach to reduce the real risks we face.

Building a secure and resilient infrastructure is good for our national security; it also benefits an entire ecosystem of American manufacturers who have long suffered from unfair and subsidized foreign competition.

Creating the Demand Signal
The past five years have proven that private investment follows public action. Wall Street will follow where Uncle Sam invests. Investors need to see a durable demand signal and consistent government action. Just as we saw with the CHIPS Act, government investment attracted billions in private investment. Until we get investment and incentives to buy American, our industry will at best maintain the status quo.

References

1. “Rogue communication devices found in Chinese solar power inverters,” by Sarah Mcfarlane, Reuters, May 14, 2025.
2. “Unexplained components found in Denmark’s energy equipment imports, industry group says,” Reuters, May 21, 2025.
3. “Unexplained Modems Raise Red Flags in Probe of China-Built Cranes at US Ports,” by Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, March 8, 2024.

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