Dear IPC Members:

It has been said that August is “the bridge between how the year has been and how the year will end.”

In the spirit of taking a pause to rest and refresh before it’s “back to school” season, this newsletter will be taking a break for the next several weeks. Please use the links below to learn more or send us any questions or suggestions in the meantime.

From where we sit on the IPC Government Relations team, 2023 has been an interesting year to date. So far this year, we have witnessed many policy developments that IPC and its members and allies have been pursuing:

• CHIPS for America: The U.S. Government launched the “CHIPS for America” program, including IPC-applauded commitments to devote some CHIPS Act funding to other parts of electronics ecosystem, including printed circuit boards (PCBs), IC substrates, and advanced packaging. A bipartisan team in Congress reintroduced a PCB Act to boost domestic demand and investment in the sector. 

• PCBs: U.S. President Biden issued a “presidential determination” that greater domestic production of PCBs is critical to national security. IPC has been a champion of more resilient, trusted, and secure defense electronics supply chains in all nations.

• Electronics in Europe: The European Institutions reached agreement on the European Chips Act and launched an “Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI),” designed to support research, innovation, and “first industrial deployment” of microelectronics and communication technologies across the value chain. IPC is continuing its ongoing dialogue with the European Commission and together with partners and stakeholders is finalizing a report with recommendations to bolster Europe’s PCB and EMS sectors.

• Green Electronics: IPC launched a Sustainability for Electronics Leadership Council and several Action Groups; published a white paper on the key sustainability issues facing our industry; and rallied the industry to face the prospect of partial or full bans on PFAS chemicals in the European Union and United States.  

• Thought Leadership: IPC released major reports on IC substrates; the European PCB and EMS sectors; and sustainability in electronics design and manufacturing, not to mention our regular economic outlook reports and industry sentiment surveys.

Over the next few months and beyond, the IPC GR Team plans to continue advocating for you, your company, and the entire industry on all of these issues and more. Our efforts may include meetings, calls, and letters with government officials; official comments in regulatory proceedings; and educational events, reports, social media posts, and media coverage.    

Our efforts will continue day in and day out, but we need and welcome the active support and advocacy participation by people like you. Here’s how you can stay informed and involved:

• Let us know your concerns and priorities and whether you’re willing to speak up on the industry’s behalf by taking our brief, five-question survey.Your answers will help IPC advocate on your behalf. Any stories you offer will be held privately unless you give us permission to share them as illustrations of the challenges our industry faces.  

• Subscribe to IPC Global Advocacy Report: If you are a member of IPC, manage your e-mail preferences and opt in to receive “Advocacy” updates. If you are not an IPC member — or if you are not sure — please send a note to friends@ipc.org, and our staff will add you to the list. See prior editions of Global Advocacy Report. 

• Check out the latest edition of IPC Community, which spotlights the IPC Education Foundation and IPC education programs in the latest issue.

• Follow us LinkedIn and share our posts with your networks.

• Explore our IPC Government Relations information online. 

Contact one of us if you have any questions or insights to contribute. 

Thank you for your support, and all the best,