Dear IPC Members:

Please enjoy this week’s top stories affecting the electronics manufacturing industry. Our Government Relations (GR) team is proud to advocate on behalf of you.

As always, please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions.

All the best,

Chris Mitchell
Vice President, Global Government Relations

The Headlines at a Glance: 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

 IPC ADVOCACY & YOU 

• IPC to Hold Virtual IMPACT Washington, D.C. Event in March

 DEFENSE AND SECURITY

• DoD Faces Growing Risks from Reliance on Lead in Electronics
• Questions Surround CMMC Assessment Guide

 ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH

• IPC Supports Proposed PIP (3:1) Compliance Date
• China Proposes Adding New Substances to Chemical Inventory

 EUROPEAN UNION

• France Outlines its EU Presidency Priorities
• CSRD Under Debate in Parliament  

EUROPEAN UNION

• “Chips Don’t Float in Thin Air”

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD ON SOCIAL MEDIA

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH US

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Nine of the DoD’s priority areas for modernization involve advanced electronics. So, if we want to have the most advanced capabilities in our military, we need to leverage commercial technologies, and that means lead-free.”
– Carol Handwerker, a professor of materials engineering at Purdue University, makes the case for a lead-free transition in Department of Defense (DoD) defense and intelligence applications.

IPC ADVOCACY AND YOU

IPC to Hold Virtual IMPACT Washington, D.C. Event in March: IPC’s next U.S. advocacy event – IMPACT Washington, D.C. – will take place in March, but it will be virtual only due to COVID. We had planned for an in-person IMPACT, but due to uncertainty about the pandemic and the Omicron variant, policymakers are unlikely to take meetings with large groups at that time. IPC Contact: Ken Schramko.

DEFENSE AND SECURITY

DoD Faces Growing Risks from Reliance on Lead in Electronics: “Like a cancer that spreads untreated until it becomes an urgent problem, the U.S. defense community is facing a small but growing problem that is increasingly undermining U.S. military readiness and technological dominance.” U.S. Partnership for Assured Electronics (USPAE) Executive Director Chris Peters and a half-dozen leading participants in the lead-free research and development (R&D) program, emphasized the risks to the Department of Defense (DoD) and United States if the lead-free transition is not completed. Contact USPAE if you have any questions.

Questions Surround CMMC Assessment Guide: The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) recently published a Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 2 assessment guide, but many questions remain, says cybersecurity expert and IPC Thought Leader Leslie Weinstein. As a reminder, CMMC 2.0, unveiled in November, aims to minimize compliance barriers by reducing costs, particularly for small businesses. Read more about what CMMC 2.0 means for our industry in an IPC blog. IPC Contact: Chris Mitchell.

ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH

IPC Supports Proposed PIP (3:1) Compliance Date: IPC, alongside our peer groups CTA and ITI, recently coordinated on a joint response offering industry support for the EPA’s proposed compliance deadline for phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) – PIP (3:1) – a chemical substance used as a flame retardant and plasticizer in electronics. The joint comments also reiterated several requests for clarifications and exemptions for uses of PIP (3:1). In 2021, IPC engaged with industry members and the EPA to ensure a reasonable plan for a future prohibition of the manufacture and distribution of PIP (3:1) and articles containing this chemical substance. We would welcome your insights and engagement on this issue. IPC Contact: Kelly Scanlon.

China Proposes Adding New Substances to Chemical Inventory: On December 22, China ’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) announced an additional 11 chemical substances would be added to the Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances in China (IECSC). As a reminder, if the substance is not listed in the IECSC, your business must complete new substance registration before manufacturing or importing said chemicals. Chemicals that are not included in the IECSC are considered new chemicals and are managed under MEE Order 12. IPC Contact: Kelly Scanlon. 

EUROPEAN UNION

France Outlines its EU Presidency Priorities: Climate change, environmental protection, and the circular economy are top priorities of France’s presidency of the Council of the European Union, which began on January 1 and runs until June 30. France will also prioritize industrial cooperation in key sectors including electronics and aims to boost investment in sectors such as microchips, cloud technology, hydrogen, and batteries. The presidency’s responsibilities include steering the council’s political agenda and helping achieve compromises among EU institutions and EU Member States. IPC Contact: Alison James.

CSRD Under Debate in Parliament: The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is currently under discussion in the European Parliament, with the intended scope of the directive and the timing of implementation two main points of contention. The proposed CSRD seeks to strengthen the reporting requirements for sustainability information of certain large companies. A plenary vote is expected in March. IPC will continue to track and advocate for a reporting system that is workable for electronics manufacturers. Read more about the CSRD and the implications for our industry in an April 2021 IPC blog. IPC Contact: Alison James.

TRADE AND SUPPLY CHAIN

“Chips Don’t Float in Thin Air”: “You can have all the microchips you want, but if you can’t attach them to something, how can you use them? Even if we could revive foundries and build microchips in the U.S., we would still have to send them offshore to be assembled into advanced packaging.” Calumet Electronics Corporation CEO Todd Brassard — an active IPC member — talks to Forbes about the need to rebuild the entire microelectronics system in the United States. IPC Contact: Chris Mitchell.

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD ON SOCIAL MEDIA

“Failing to strengthen U.S. advanced packaging capabilities while boosting production of chips will lengthen the existing semiconductor supply chain, as manufacturers will be forced to send their chips abroad for packaging and assembly,” E. Jan Vardaman, president, TechSearch, and Matt Kelly, chief technologist of IPC, discuss advanced packaging in an article in Semiconductor Engineering.		IPC’s January 2022 global electronics manufacturing supply chain sentiment report found that materials and labor costs continue to be the largest issue facing the electronics supply chain, with nine in 10 electronics manufacturers reporting rising materials costs and more than three-fourths reporting rising labor costs. Though order flows continue to be strong, and both capacity utilization and shipments are expanding, survey respondents reported growing backlogs and shrinking profit margins.

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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