Dear IPC Members:

IPC’s government relations program depends on a clear understanding of your needs, as well as your support, which is why we want to hear from you!

This week, we’re looking for your support on issues like ensuring legislation in the U.S. Senate includes mention of electronics manufacturing. As a reminder, IPC’s "A Team" advocacy page makes it easy to communicate with your elected officials about our industry’s priority issues. And don’t forget to let us know what you think governments should be doing to support our industry’s long-term growth and evolution.

We are here to amplify your voice and that of the entire electronics manufacturing industry. Let us know how we can help.

All the best and stay safe,

Chris Mitchell
Vice President, Global Government Relations

TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK

Help IPC Advocate for Electronics Inclusion 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) 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 click here to contact the key legislators and urge them to include these critically important provisions to the bill. It only takes a few minutes and could make a huge difference for our industry. IPC Contact: Ken Schramko.

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.

DEFENSE & SECURITY

Electronics Industry Summit with DoD Spawns More Dialogue, Collaboration: The U.S. Partnership for Assured Electronics (USPAE) recently convened a two-day meeting to foster increased dialogue and working relationships between the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and leaders across the electronics industry. The attendees confirmed that the U.S. government, the electronics industry, and academia must continue their collaborative efforts to address risks and gaps in the defense electronics supply chain. A series of forums and meetings are being planned to further advance this work. Contact USPAE if you'd like to participate or have any questions.

ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH

Do the EPA’s CDR Regulations Affect You? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) opened the comment period this week on a petition process applicable to the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) regulations. The petition process allows affected stakeholders to submit requests for full exemptions of byproduct substances that are recycled and partial exemptions of chemicals that are determined to be of “low current interest” by the EPA. The CDR rule requires manufacturers and importers of certain chemical substances listed under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Substance Inventory to report data to the EPA every four years. The public comment period is open until December 21. Please let us know if the petition process is applicable to you. IPC Contact: Kelly Scanlon.

Feedback Needed on End-of-Life Vehicle Directive Revisions: The European Commission is currently reviewing the End-of-Life Vehicle (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.

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.

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.

EUROPEAN UNION

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

Belgium to Begin Work on Due Diligence Law: Belgium is set to consider a new supply chain law this fall which will introduce mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence obligations. The proposal is expected to echo several aspects of the upcoming corporate sustainable governance (CSG) proposal currently being discussed at the EU level. IPC is continuing to engage with EU policymakers to ensure that the legislation, expected October 27, is feasible and minimizes the administrative burden for our member companies, while also protecting human rights and the environment. Let us know if you have any questions. IPC Contact: Alison James.

UPCOMING EVENTS

iNEMI Tech Topic Series: Eco-Design for Circular Electronics Economy (Session 4) Virtual. September 9. Join us for the next webinar in iNEMI’s eco-design series to learn how Fronius and IBM are using eco-design principles to minimize the environmental impact of their products and services. Register for the webinar. IPC Contact: Kelly Scanlon.
 
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

"While $50 billion isn’t peanuts to semi companies, a single state-of-the-art wafer fab costs three times the entire value of the US bare board manufacturing industry. Even a fraction of that would be a gamechanger for PCB suppliers.” Printed Circuit Design & Fab reports on the U.S. Partnership for Assured Electronics (USPAE) meeting and urges DoD and Congress to pay attention to the entire electronics ecosystem, including design and assembly of PCBs.		“The book-to-bill of 1.29 is a historic high, going back to the start of the IPC PCB report in 1991." IPC Chief Economist Shawn DuBravac comments on the latest findings from IPC’s North American PCB Statistical Program.

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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