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American Made Advocacy: Moving the Needle for Microelectronics in 2023

What a difference a year makes. In 2023, we saw remarkable progress toward securing critical supply chains and laying the groundwork to rebuild our defense industrial base and critical infrastructure. The passage of the CHIPS Act has spurred a deeper conversation about America’s dependence on foreign sourcing and motivated our leaders to act after 30 years of complacency.

America invented the microelectronics that power the modern world, but over the past three decades we ceded our leadership in manufacturing these technologies to other nations. Twenty-five years ago, we produced 30% of the world’s supply of printed circuit boards. Today that number is down to 4%. Commensurately, the number of domestic PCB manufacturers has decreased from 2,500 to only 145 companies today. This manufacturing deficit creates a supply chain risk for everyday technologies as well as those critical to national security applications.

Here are the major developments we’ve seen this year:

1. In March, the President designated printed circuit boards and substrates as critical technologies under the Defense Production Act. This declaration drops red tape, creates funding vehicles inside the Defense Department, and allows the government to move faster to invest in and acquire critical microelectronics. For example, in November, DPA funding flowed to Calumet Electronics to help them produce high density build-up substrates. PCBAA and IPC continue to lead an effort in Congress to fully fund the DPA accounts, making sure our men and women in uniform have reliable access to next-generation systems built right here at home.
2. In April, the Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates (PCBS) Act was reintroduced with bipartisan support by U.S. Reps. Blake Moore and Anna Eshoo. This legislation creates a $3 billion fund—like the CHIPS Act—designed to give American companies the capital to build new factories, hire new workers, and expand capacity. Additionally, on the demand side, the PCBS Act creates a 25% tax credit for the buyers of American-made PCBs and substrates.
3. In June, as part of our annual meeting, PCBAA took our message directly to policymakers, spending two days with senior officials from the departments of Commerce and Defense. We also visited dozens of members of Congress representing the 26 states where you can still find microelectronics manufacturing. Our message was clear: Investments in semiconductors are an important first step, but “chips don’t float.” The government must act to support the rest of the technology stack and restore needed capacity to the entire microelectronics ecosystem.
4. In November, Calumet Electronics and TTM Technologies announced significant expansions of their domestic PCB and substrate facilities, in partnership with Michigan and New York. These investments by some of PCBAA’s founding members demonstrate that American PCB companies are willing to innovate and lead the charge to build more on our shores.
5. In December (we hope), Congress will pass and send to the President the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the bill that directs the actions of the Pentagon. The NDAA contains language which directs the Department of Defense to identify and remove microelectronics originating in adversary nations that we know are present in our commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) supply chains.

It has been a busy 12 months, and much work lies ahead if we are to recapture America’s microelectronics leadership.

The PCBAA believes in and fights for market fairness and a level playing field on which U.S. PCB and substrate manufacturers can compete and win. Next year is the year to join our effort by visiting us online or contacting me directly.

This column originally appeared in the December 2023 issue of PCB007 Magazine.

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