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Dear IPC Members:
I hope this finds you and yours doing well.
It's a quiet week here in the IPC office in Washington, with both chambers of Congress out of town. But it’s always a good time to be thinking ahead about how we can make the electronics manufacturing industry’s voice heard on the issues that affect your business.
On the environment and health front, current topics like the EU’s new sustainability criteria, circular economy principles, and chemical management practices can all benefit from your input.
Meanwhile, IPC is developing some new communications assets to explain our sector to non-technical audiences, including photos and infographic-style illustrations. Do you know of a good source for such artwork and any examples you can show us? See below for details.
And don’t forget to send us a message if you have an opinion on what you think governments should be doing to support our industry’s long-term growth and evolution. We’re anticipating heavy action this fall on the federal budget, infrastructure, R&D investment, cyber security, and more, and we’re always planning ahead based on the priorities identified by our members.
All the best,
Chris Mitchell
Vice President, Global Government Relations
IPC ADVOCACY AND YOU
IPC is Crowdsourcing for Artwork and Illustrations of Electronics Manufacturing: IPC Members: You can help IPC help you by letting us know of any existing or potential sources of original artwork related to electronics manufacturing. The purpose of this effort is to improve IPC’s ability to explain electronics manufacturing to non-technical audiences such as government officials, reporters, teachers, and students. We would welcome any input from our community; let’s leverage the power of the IPC network to meet this need! Please let us know if you have any questions. IPC Contact: Sandy Gentry.
ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH
Companies Commit to Improving Chemical Management Practices: The Clean Electronics Production Network announced a new program last week to improve chemical management practices and eliminate workers’ exposure to hazardous chemicals across the global electronics manufacturing industry. The commitment, called the “Toward Zero Exposure” program, will allow companies to highlight their efforts to eliminate or substitute priority chemicals with safer alternatives. Learn more about the program, its participants, and how you can get involved here. IPC Contact: Kelly Scanlon.
Feedback Needed on End-of-Life Directive Revisions: The European Commission is currently reviewing the End-of-Life (ELV) Directive to address circularity and extended producer responsibility, and electronics are expected to come up. The directive, which aims to make the dismantling and recycling of ELVs more environmentally friendly, is set to be revised by the end of 2022. The public consultation on the revision ends October 26. Please let us know if you or your company would be affected by changes to the directive, and let us know if you have any input. IPC Contact: Kelly Scanlon.
Share Your Experience with Extended Reliability Assessments: iNEMI has formed a team to better enable circular economy principles, and electronics manufacturers are encouraged to join. The team will examine extended reliability assessments for electronic components and will develop a methodology for part selection and stress testing. If you are interested in joining the team, you can sign up here. Registration closes in early September, and the project is set to begin soon thereafter. IPC Contact: Kelly Scanlon.
OSHA Requests Input from Mechanical Power Press Users: On July 28, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a Request for Information from companies using mechanical power presses in the shaping, cutting, and bending of metal sheets. OSHA is considering updating the 50-year-old mechanical power presses standard and is seeking input in areas such as the types of presses that should be covered. The comment period is open until October 26; let us know if you have any questions. IPC Contact: Kelly Scanlon.
EUROPEAN UNION
EC Continues Disbursement of Recovery Fund Payments: The European Commission continued issuing payments this week of its €750 billion Next Generation EU coronavirus recovery package, with Italy, Spain, and Lithuania among the beneficiaries. The recovery funds will help finance green and digital transformation projects across the European Union, which should ultimately benefit the electronics manufacturing industry. In case you missed it, IPC released a report in April which illustrated how the electronics industry will be instrumental in Europe’s economic recovery from COVID-19 and its long-term green and digital ambitions. IPC Contact: Alison James.
Your Chance to Provide Feedback on EU Sustainability Criteria: On August 3, a European Commission working group released a draft report proposing criteria that manufacturing of electric and electronic equipment (EEE) be considered as “durable” and “circular” under the EU Taxonomy regulation. The EU Taxonomy, which is a classification system for sustainable economic activities, aims to provide guidance to direct investments towards sustainable activities and help reach the objectives of climate and energy targets under the European Green Deal. It also introduces reporting obligations for companies falling under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which IPC wrote about here. While the draft report does not constitute an official document, it can serve as an indicator of what the criteria for EEE manufacturing and other activities may look like once officially adopted by the commission in early 2022. The public consultation is open through September 24. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. IPC Contact: Kelly Scanlon.
TAX, TRADE, AND SUPPLY CHAIN
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IPC Welcomes U.S. Senate Passage of Infrastructure Bill: The Senate recently approved a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, and electronics manufacturers have fresh reasons to be optimistic. IPC welcomes the prospect of historic investments in America’s roads, ports, electric grids, and digital networks, in part because America’s infrastructure depends on reliable electronics. This bipartisan bill will help drive growth in the overall economic recovery, including the electronics industry. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns. IPC Contact: Ken Schramko.
IPC Urges Congress to Include Electronics in U.S. Tech R&D Bill: IPC sent a letter recently to the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation (CST) Committee, affirming the importance of explicitly stating support for electronics manufacturing in pending tech and competitiveness legislation. IPC supports the U.S. Innovation and Competitiveness Act (USICA), which includes the Endless Frontier Act, as it boosts investment in federal research and development (R&D) in 10 high-tech fields. But we think the bill should more explicitly support R&D in electronics manufacturing and position the United States to build more of what it designs. If you agree, please keep an eye out for an upcoming opportunity to call upon your elected officials to include these critically important provisions to the bill. IPC Contact: Ken Schramko.
IPC’s Latest Economic Trends Report: Many industries continue to be plagued by supply chain disruptions, and the electronics industry is no exception. Although these pressures are expected to ease in the coming months, IPC believes “supply chain disruptions will continue to reverberate throughout the economy, and the electronics industry, well into next year.” Check out IPC Chief Economist Shawn Dubravac’s latest Monthly Economic Outlook Report and let us know if you have any questions. IPC Contact: Shawn DuBravac.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Global Electronics Summit: Virtual, September 21–23. Join Chemical Watch and IPC’s Kelly Scanlon as she covers the EU’s sustainable products initiative on Day 2 of the conference. Additional key topics include REACH restrictions on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), ECHA’s Substance of Concern in Products (SCIP) database, Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and other U.S. regulations, flame retardants, and more. IPC members are eligible for a 20% registration discount; register here. Contact Kelly Scanlon for a discount code.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORD ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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| Don’t miss the IPC Standards Development Committee’s awards luncheon on August 30 at IPC Summercom, where we will celebrate all the dedicated IPC Members who help us build electronics better. |
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David Pogue, a go-to expert on disruptive technologies, a contributor to “CBS Sunday,” tech critic for Yahoo Finance, columnist for Scientific American, and host of various science shows on NOVA, will serve as the keynote speaker at IPC APEX EXPO 2022! |
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.
Subscribe to IPC Global Advocacy Report: If you’re a member of IPC, manage your e-mail preferences and opt in to receive “Advocacy” updates. If you are not an IPC member — or you’re not sure — please send a note to friends@ipc.org, and our staff will add you to the list.
Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Contact one of us if you have any questions or insights to contribute.
Tell us how government policies affect your business.
See prior editions of Global Advocacy Report.
Explore our IPC Government Relations information online.
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