Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1490123
20 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2023 ics 4 . IPC also submitted official comments on the issue to both the U.S. Department of Com- merce and the European Commission, both of which are planning major investments in the semiconductor supply chain in 2023. Finally, IPC and our colleagues at the Printed Circuit Board Association of America (PCBAA) and the U.S. Partnership for Assured Electronics (USPAE) are working to persuade President Biden to issue a determination that PCBs and IC substrates deserve priority U.S. govern- ment action under Title III of the Defense Pro- duction Act. Our message to policymakers is that build- ing a more robust, domestic ecosystem for advanced electronics will require four key pol- icy decisions: 1. Invest in advanced packaging capacity. e CHIPS Act makes $39 billion available over five years for government investments in manufacturing capacity. Much of this fund- ing will go to silicon fabricators, but at least nine figures should be earmarked for advanced packaging segments, including integrated cir- cuit (IC) substrate fabrication and final com- ponent assembly and test, with a focus on building short-term capacity both organically and through foreign investment or partner- ships. 2. Invest in research and development. e U.S. is 10 to 20 years behind its peers in advanced packaging, especially IC substrate fabrication. Playing catch-up is a losing strat- egy, so the U.S. needs to invest in leapfrogging technological advancements. Fortunately, the CHIPS Act allocates $2.5 billion for advanced packaging R&D, funds that should be used to support innovations in equipment, materi- als, and processes that support advanced elec- tronic interconnection. 3. Promote supply chain partnerships over supplier relationships. Component makers and their suppliers need to see each other as partners rather than as customers and suppli- ers. Partners support each other's success; cus- tomers too oen seek the lowest price, regard- less of whether that decision weakens a suppli- er's ability to remain solvent and invest in new capabilities. In the context of rising geopoliti- cal tensions and global supply chain risks, cus- tomers and suppliers are dependent upon each other's success, and business relationships should reflect this fact. 4. Make strategic decisions on what we are building and for whom. e global elec- tronics supply chain has largely moved out of the United States and allied European nations; bringing the supply chain back to these regions is highly unlikely. Instead, the U.S. govern- ment needs to determine what items need to be made in the U.S. and allied countries— either for strategic autonomy or security pur- poses—and then focus on building capabilities accordingly. Looking ahead to 2023, IPC will continue to advocate for the entire semiconductor supply chain in every policy-making arena. If you're interested in supporting our efforts, please contact myself or Chris Mitchell, IPC's vice president of global government relations. PCB007 References 1. "An Analysis of the North American Semiconduc- tor and Advanced Packaging Ecosystem: Rebuild- ing U.S. Capabilities for the 21st Century," IPC.org, November 2021. 2. "Towards a Robust Advanced Packaging Eco- system," with a forward by John Mitchell, IPC.org, 2022. 3. "IPC Advanced Packaging Symposium: Build- ing the IC-Substrate and Package Assembly Eco- system," IPC.org, October 2022. 4. "Industry Well Represented on New U.S. Gov- ernment Advisory Committee on Microelectronics," IPC.org, Sept. 30, 2022. Dr. John W. Mitchell is president and CEO of IPC. To read past columns, click here.