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American Made Advocacy: American PCBs in Big Demand and Short Supply

The PCB industry faces challenges that are only now being recognized by government agencies. Against the backdrop of conflicts in Europe and the Middle East and the ongoing threat of Chinese business and military aggression, the microelectronics industry overall has been upended.

American PCB production has been hit especially hard. This happened because of a combination of three decades of offshoring, fighting for market share against heavily subsidized Asian countries, single sources of key inputs, and facing conflict-driven chokepoints across the supply chain.

Much has been written about the offshoring of the industry and the unfairness of American companies competing with other countries. Likewise, single sources like copper and woven glass have received attention.

There is another major factor getting renewed focus at the Department of Defense (DoD): supply chain security. U.S. defense and critical infrastructure systems too often depend on foreign components. Some are benign and can be safely integrated into these systems.

However, there are four countries where components are prohibited. Section 841 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2021 and section 851 for FY 2022 require the DoD to mitigate supply chain risks by prohibiting the procurement of PCBs from entities located in or controlled by these four nations: The People's Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea.

To take steps to remove PCBs from those countries, Congress required DoD to have a plan by Jan. 1, 2027, to implement this prohibition by focusing on where bare PCBs or partially manufactured boards are made. DoD is in the process of establishing trusted supply chains and operational security standards for the procurement of microelectronics and their associated PCBs.

As DoD prepares to comply with the NDAA, PCBAA, and our member companies have until Aug. 31, 2026, to comment on how this can be best executed. We encourage every company with a defense business to comment so that DoD can implement the best rules and regulations. American industry is ready to get China out of our supply chains, and we need to provide DoD with our best counsel on smart compliance with this important regulation.

PCBAA is also in constant dialogue with the Department of Commerce and other executive branch agencies to help reshore and restore the American PCB industry. Join us today to continue to fight for our industry.

This column originally appeared in the August 2026 issue of I-Connect007 Magazine.