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American Made Advocacy: National Security and Industrial Policy Inextricably Linked

Every year, the Pentagon publishes a national security strategy. The newest version is in its final stages of development. It is said to indicate China remains a top priority for deterrence, but there is a renewed emphasis on the homeland and the Western Hemisphere.

Even with a renewed focus on homeland and the Western Hemisphere, the need for secure and trusted microelectronics remains crucial for our national and economic security. No matter where they’re deployed, our men and women in uniform deserve the most secure and effective equipment we can give them, right down to the component level.

Rebuilding domestic industrial capacity and strengthening supply chains is inextricably linked to national security. Our national security and defense industrial policies must be unified and complementary. Without a strong and resilient industrial base, we are at a disadvantage when defending our homeland or engaging in overseas operations.

I continually emphasize that we must reduce reliance on supply chains in adversarial nations, particularly China. In a recent appearance on “60 Minutes,” retired Air Force Gen. Tim Haugh warned that China is targeting the U.S. military, industry, and America’s critical infrastructure. How has it done this? Largely by supplying technologies embedded in both military and civil systems. Haugh said that China has the power to flip a switch and disrupt the systems we depend on for daily life and national defense.

This didn’t happen overnight, and there were multiple factors that allowed this to happen. First, we offshored our electronics industry. Second, we were not vigilant enough in monitoring our supply chains to detect compromised components from China and other adversarial nations.

This is not a concern only for those sitting in the Pentagon or on Capitol Hill. Every CEO whose enterprise feeds our Defense Industrial Base should be concerned and acting.

The current situation also illustrates the difference between how China approaches planning and how we operate in the Western world. In the U.S., our business decisions are focused on shorter-term shareholder returns. The Chinese government works with its industrial base to plan for and invest over a quarter-century timeline. They invested in many industries, which they now dominate, including ship building, rare earth minerals, and electronics. The Chinese government and its industries achieved this dominance through consistent long-term planning and substantial government investment.

This major difference in these approaches to strategic planning has resulted in Chinese companies capturing a major share of the worldwide microelectronics market. We are now playing catch-up. It took 25 years for the U.S. electronics industry to erode to its current standing and it will not change overnight. It means we need to take aggressive and forward-thinking action now to lay the groundwork for the secure, trusted, and resilient supply chain we need as a nation.

One starting point is Section 851 of the National Defense Authorization Act, which directs the Pentagon to get Chinese goods out of our defense supply chain. The plan to solve this decades long infiltration of our defense supply chains is due to be implemented in 2027. Compliance requires the cooperation of thousands of suppliers for the complex systems that support our national defense and critical infrastructure.

Our industry needs consistent public and private investment. The Protecting Circuit Board and Substrates Act, H.R. 3597, is an enabling piece of legislation that would provide the long-term demand signal and investment needed to build back our industry. This demand signal will enable government and investors to support strengthening our industry to meet the needs of our national security and ensure a secure infrastructure.  We should all be letting our elected representatives know how important it is to restore American manufacturing.

Now, more than ever, we need to continue our advocacy. More voices create impact. We invite companies throughout the PCB supply chain to join PCBAA to make our impact even greater.

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