Dear IPC Members:

Which government policies worry you most?

If you’re like most IPC member company executives, you’re concerned about politics and policy and how these issues affect your company. Our GR team works hard to educate policy makers and advocate for our industry, and I can tell you – the more our members our involved, the greater the impact we have and the more successful we are.

Check out our brief overview of the strategies and tactics IPC uses to impact government policy, the key issues we’re working on today, and how you can be involved in advocating for our industry.

One such area where you can make an immediate impact this week is in environment and health issues, where there are a host of regulatory activities in motion, especially surrounding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Please send us a message if you have any input or questions on what governments should be doing to support the industry’s long-term growth and evolution. We’ll answer your questions in future editions of IPC Global Advocacy Report.

All the best,

Chris Mitchell
Vice President, Global Government Relations

TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK

House Passes Two Bipartisan Tech and Competitiveness Bills: The U.S. House of Representatives passed two bipartisan bills this week centered on countering China’s influence by bolstering U.S. science and technology research. The National Science Foundation (NSF) for the Future Act and the Department of Energy Science for the Future Act together will invest $128 billion into the National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. The U.S. Senate approved its own legislation, the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, which includes the Endless Frontier Act, earlier this month. IPC is continuing to work with lawmakers to more explicitly state support for electronics manufacturing in such legislation. Please stay tuned as we’ll be asking you to contact your Members of Congress soon. IPC Contact: Chris Mitchell.

EPA Plans New Round of TSCA Risk Evaluations: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced this week it will be reviewing the first 10 risk evaluations of certain chemical substances to ensure all populations are protected from unreasonable risks associated with these substances, several of which are used to manufacture electronics. IPC will continue to monitor the EPA’s progress in this review and any subsequent risk management actions. Let us know if you are interested in these risk evaluations and getting more involved. IPC Contact: Kelly Scanlon.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"We need historic – once in a generation – investments in our competitiveness that support R&D, innovation, our semiconductor industry, and advanced manufacturing to grow our economy and create good-paying middle-class jobs in every corner of America. ... By rebuilding those domestic sources of strength, we can out-compete China and the rest of the world for years to come.”
- U.S. President Joe Biden praised the U.S. House passage of two bipartisan bills on tech and competitiveness.

IPC ADVOCACY AND YOU

Help IPC’s Advocacy Team Help You! U.S. members of IPC: Please take a minute to visit our online action center and register to participate in upcoming campaigns to educate the U.S. Congress on our key issues. It’s fast, easy, and important. Thanks! IPC Contact: Ken Schramko.

DEFENSE AND SECURITY

DoD CMMC Review to Address Compliance Cost Concerns: As IPC has urged, compliance costs for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be a focal point of the U.S. Defense Department's (DoD) Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) review, Federal News Network reports. IPC recently made the case in an industry report and provided input to a congressional hearing that CMMC compliance costs could drive many SMEs out of the defense industrial base. Read the full statement on the hearing from IPC President and CEO John Mitchell. IPC Contact: Chris Mitchell.

ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH

EPA To Require Reporting of High-Priority Chemicals: On June 29, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule that would add 20 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) high-priority substances and 30 organohalogen flame retardants to the agency’s Priority Testing List (PTL). The rule would require all manufacturers and importers of these substances to “report certain lists and copies of unpublished health and safety studies to the EPA.” Several of the high-priority substances, such as phthalates, formaldehyde, and Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), are used in electronics. IPC Contact: Kelly Scanlon.

New EPA Rule to Require Reporting and Recordkeeping on PFAS: On June 28, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule requiring all manufacturers and importers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to report information regarding the “uses, production volumes, disposal, exposures, and hazards” of the chemical substance. PFAS has a history of use in electronics, and IPC will be preparing comments in response to this proposed rule during the 60-day comment period. Please let us know if you have any questions or thoughts on how this might affect your business. IPC Contact: Kelly Scanlon.

Maine Passes Legislation Regulating PFAS: On June 23, the State of Maine’s legislature passed a bill that would require manufacturers to report products made with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and “commence rulemaking to potentially ban the sale of products containing ‘intentionally added’ PFAS,” the Portland Press Herald reports. The law, one of the strictest in the United States, would come into effect on January 1, 2023. Let us know if you have any questions. IPC Contact: Kelly Scanlon.

OSHA Releases Emergency Standard on COVID-19: On June 10, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released regulatory language for the long-awaited Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for COVID-19. The rule – once published in the Federal Register -- will only apply to the healthcare industry and will not apply to manufacturing. In addition to the ETS, OSHA updated its guidance on preventing COVID in the workplace to provide recommendations on protecting unvaccinated workers. Your team should check this out, but the updated guidance is not a standard or regulation and creates no new legal obligations. Please let us know if you have any questions. IPC Contact: Kelly Scanlon.

IPC Provides Industry Input on Sustainable Products Initiative: IPC shared comments recently on the European Commission’s public consultation on its Sustainable Products Initiative, a key component of the European Union’s Circular Economy Action Plan. We believe that any sustainable product legislation should focus on final electronics products with the greatest environmental impacts and the greatest potential for circularity improvements. The initiative will revise and expand the Ecodesign Directive and will address the presence of harmful chemicals in electronics and ICT equipment, among other products. Read our full comments here. IPC Contact: Alison James.

Interested in Chemical and Product Regulations in South Korea? South Korea’s Ministry of Environment (MoE) recently announced it plans to revise the Act on the Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals’ (K-REACH) enforcement rules to strengthen regulatory practices for chemicals. The draft amendment would change the required registration data for certain chemical substances and include new requirements for nanomaterials registration, data protection, and more. The consultation period ends on July 13. South Korea also underwent an updated deep dive by our environmental and health experts earlier this year. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns. IPC Contact: Kelly Scanlon.

TRADE AND SUPPLY CHAIN

Electronics Included in Strategic Supply Chain Review: The Biden administration recently concluded its 100-day supply chain review, and IPC was pleased to see it address the importance of the U.S. electronics supply chain. We have identified multiple passages that acknowledge our input and the need to bolster the entire electronics supply chain, even if it was not the primary focus of the report. As a follow-up, representatives of IPC, Calumet Electronics, Jabil, and TTM met on June 16 with U.S. Commerce Department officials to further educate them on these issues, and we are encouraged that the administration is committed to further dialogue and policy action. See our full statement on the review here. IPC Contact: Chris Mitchell.
 
EC Seeks to Implement Flexible Due Diligence for SMEs: European Commission policymakers said this week that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) would have flexibility in meeting due diligence obligations under an upcoming corporate sustainable governance (CSG) proposal, acknowledging challenges smaller companies face in conducting due diligence along their supply chains. IPC is continuing to engage with European Union policymakers to ensure that the upcoming due diligence legislation, expected in late 2021, is feasible and minimizes the administrative burden for our member companies. Let us know if you have any questions. IPC Contact: Alison James.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Leveraging USG Trade Assets for Sales Support: Virtual, July 13. Bryan Erwin, former Director of the Trade Advocacy Center in the Obama Administration, Founder/Managing Partner at BlueWave Merchant Partners, and current member of IPC’s Thought Leaders program, will provide information on how best to leverage USG trade assets to augment your company’s sales. Erwin will also walk through how using these assets can affect policy outcomes in the United States. Register for the webinar here. IPC Contact: Chris Mitchell .

What are the Best Practices for Eco-design? Virtual, July 27. Join the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) for the final webinar in a three-part series on eco-design for a circular electronics economy. The series is your opportunity to learn from eco-design leaders about the best and most innovative practices used today. Register for the webinar here. IPC Contact: Kelly Scanlon.

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH US

Meet the IPC GR Team: Whether it’s engaging with policymakers in Washington, D.C., in the European Union or in China, the IPC Government Relations (GR) Team proactively seeks opportunities to educate, inform and influence policymakers on policies that spur innovation, growth and competition, while protecting human health and the environment. But our success depends on your support and engagement. Learn more and get involved in IPC advocacy today! IPC Contact: Chris Mitchell.

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