Statement of the Global Electronics Association on USTR’s Section 301 Forced Labor Action

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The Global Electronics Association shares the Administration’s objective. Forced labor has no place in the electronics supply chain, and our industry has spent years building the tools to find and remove it. Our members developed and operate IPC-1401, the supply chain social responsibility standard, and participate in the Responsible Business Alliance Validated Assessment Program. That work continues regardless of tariff policy, and we welcome the Administration’s effort to hold trading partners to the high standard the United States itself follows.

We appreciate that the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) preserved the exemptions it proposed in June and added more, including semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Access to foundational components remains the central question for our members. American electronics manufacturers import printed circuits, passive components, connectors, and power conversion parts because domestic capacity for them does not yet exist at scale, and qualification cycles for automotive, aerospace, medical, and defense-grade electronics run 18 to 36 months. Keeping those inputs affordable is what allows companies to build here.

Our members are prepared to invest in U.S. capacity. Predictable, durable trade relationships give companies the basis to commit capital over the decade it takes to stand up new production. We look forward to working with USTR and the Administration to ensure that this action and those that follow advance both goals together, ending forced labor abroad and strengthening electronics manufacturing at home.