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The Hidden Geography of Electronics: Rethinking Trade, Inputs, and Strategic Advantage
August 27, 2025 | Dr. Shawn DuBravac, Global Electronics AssociationEstimated reading time: 1 minute

Beneath the surface of debates about reshoring, tariffs, and supply chain resilience lies a deeper reality: Global electronics manufacturing is increasingly driven by the flow of inputs, not just the shipment of final goods.
Electronics manufacturing is not just global; it is globally interdependent. In 2023 (the most recent data available), electronics trade reached $4.4 trillion, accounting for more than 20% of total global merchandise trade. This figure reflects not only strong consumer demand for smartphones, computers, and electric vehicles, but also the dense web of international transactions behind each finished product.
Electronic components such as semiconductors, circuit boards, connectors, sensors, and batteries now account for most trade in the electronics sector. This dynamic has accelerated in recent years, reflecting the growing complexity of both devices and supply chains.
In 2023, global trade in electronics inputs exceeded trade in finished electronics by more than $400 billion. As products become more technologically advanced, they require a larger number of specialized parts, many produced in only a handful of locations. The result is a supply chain that is highly fragmented, deeply layered, and tightly interconnected across borders.
This interdependence is structural. No country controls the entire value chain, and efforts to achieve “technological self-sufficiency” must reckon with the deep-rooted realities of global specialization. For companies and policymakers, understanding this hidden geography is essential. Resilience may depend less on isolation and more on how interdependence is managed.
Continue reading this article in the Summer 2025 issue of Community Magazine.
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North American PCB Industry Shipments Up 20.7 Percent in July
08/27/2025 | Global Electronics AssociationThe Global Electronics Association announced today the July 2025 findings from its North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. The book-to-bill ratio stands at 1.00. Total North American PCB shipments in July 2025 were up 20.7% compared to the same month last year.
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Coming Soon: The Advanced Electronics Packaging Digest
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Standard of Friendship: Debbie McDade and Symon Franklin Went From Classmates to Colleagues
08/27/2025 | Debbie McDade, Advanced Rework Technology Ltd.As a fairly new IPC Master Trainer, I nervously attended my first IPC committee meeting in 2002 in New Orleans—a 4,600-mile trip from my home in the UK—for the IPC-610 Task Group. With more than 250 members, it was the largest IPC committee at that time.
Cirrus Logic, GlobalFoundries Expand Strategic Investment to Advance Next-Generation Mixed-Signal Semiconductor Manufacturing in the U.S.
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