Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1511625
54 PCB007 MAGAZINE I NOVEMBER 2023 Blake Moore: I have seen the United States and our allies make headway on something critically important for our national security: rejecting Huawei (the Chinese telecommu- nications firm) from infiltrating and enter- ing our market. From an intelligence perspec- tive, this was not about rejecting the latest for- eign technology. is legislature came from a place of rejecting the development of infra- structure and telecommunica- tion capabilities outside the United States from a nation that we are oen adversarial with. e United States used to hold a huge market share of global P CB manufacturing, but we have gradually ceded a huge portion of that to the Chinese mar- ket. I believe that is dangerous and that we need to pull that market back. e best way to do that is to man- ufacture the most sensitive defense-related PCBs in the U.S. We have a model for it, and we have the need for it. So, this legislation came from a standpoint of bolstering American security? Definitely, and with a secondary interest of shoring up PCB manufacturing and pulling the market share back to the U.S. economy for growth. I would want more of our commercial world to engage in PCBs manufactured in the U.S. and our ally nations. How did the PCB Act come to fruition? Most of our readers have a technical background within the PCB industry but are not necessar- ily well versed on technology-related govern- ment affairs. The legislative aspect is of great interest to our community. In addition to what we discussed (where national security concerns have been a large driver), we worked closely with the Printed Cir- cuit Board Association of America (PCBAA). Once we identified what the legislation would look like (tax incentives for U.S.-made PCBs and investments in infrastructure), the next level was to gain Congressional support, which stemmed largely from my work on the Armed Services Committee and expanding it from there. Congress is a funny place. It is difficult to implement legis- lation when there are still so many other things going on. But support- ing PCBs makes sense. is legislature is bipar- tisan, and people under- stand its importance. Because this is a prob- lem that has developed and grown over the last 30 years, we can't solve it all today. But what we can do is create an opportunity for small suc- cess by establishing a focus area and then building out from there. The PCB Act is modeled after the CHIPS Act, which includes incentives for R&D as well as programs to increase the work force and create jobs. In the 1980s, the PCB industry in the United States was at its peak, having 30% of the global market share 1 . Over the past 30 years, PCB manufacturing gradually shifted from the United States to overseas. Will there be any legislation in the PCB Act to help bolster the PCB workforce development in manufacturing? Look at this PCB legislation as part of the larger effort of the CHIPS Act. I like the PCB Act more than CHIPS because I think it can be more targeted and you can experi- ence more success in an earlier timeframe. To answer your question, yes, there will be invest- Congress is a funny place. It is difficult to implement legislation when there are still so many other things going on. But supporting PCBs makes sense.