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66 PCB007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2023 For the first time since we launched in 2021, the Printed Circuit Board Association of Amer- ica participated in the PCB West trade show in Santa Clara, California. We were proud to join thousands of our colleagues to discuss the innovations driving our business and the very real challenges facing the American microelec- tronics industry. Aer three days in the valley, speaking with our existing members, and building important new relationships, several things became clear: 1. Our industry knows we must act. For too long, foreign subsidies have led to artificially low prices on PCBs produced abroad. Domestic manufacturing of PCBs and IC substrates has contracted to an alarming extent. Today we have fewer than 150 compa- nies manufacturing PCBs in America, down from more than 2,000 at the turn of the cen- tury. e remaining companies were repre- sented at PCB West. ey survived a massive shi and they want to see this destructive trend reversed. 2. The PCB Industry is a place of innovation. Every booth at PCB West told a story. From new chemical processes and advances in auto- mation to workforce training programs and applications for the most challenging environ- ments, everything on display pointed to a tech- nology sector that is designing and building for the future, not living in the past. What We Learned at PCB West American Made Advocacy by Travis Kelly, PCBAA