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12 PCB007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2025 Since the end of World War II, global trade rules have tended to converge. The costs of global man- ufacturing and shipping dropped, and supply chains accelerated. Now, each of those trends has been reversed, and a new framework is still being built. There is a role for bilateral and regional agree- ments. They can be tailored to the unique needs of the participating economies and achieved faster than global negotiations. The USMCA, which took about a year to negotiate and two more to ratify and enter into force, is one exam- ple. The various agree- ments reached this year between the United States, the UK, the European Union, China, and Japan are additional examples. Still, the risks and impacts of fragmentation are real. A growing variety of rules and compliance require- ments adds cost and complexity. Small and medium- sized manufacturers often lack the resources to manage multiple compliance regimes, leaving them vulnerable in global markets. There is no guaran- tee the United States will remain in the driver's seat. From the Global Electronics Association's per- spective, the priority is not to choose between mul- tilateral and bilateral approaches, but to advocate for our industry in world capitals so that whichever approaches are taken, the new policies take our industry's needs into account, because in today's world, our lives depend on electronics. We still believe most people worldwide are best served by a global trade system that is fairer, more collaborative, and more predictable than it was in past decades. We support bilateral deals to address specific issues between nations. We counsel cau- tion in deploying tariffs, which tend to raise the cost of manufacturing in an industry with extremely tight profit margins. We urge national governments to adopt multi-faceted policy strategies to build up their domestic industries. It is impossible to imagine a future in which any one nation or region will source all its electronics needs domestically. To remain innovative and com- petitive, electronics manufacturers will continue to depend on stable, far-sighted policy frameworks at home and abroad. As the paradigm shifts, our message to govern- ments is simple: Trade policy should enable, not hinder, the flow of electronics that connect the world. PCB007 Chris Mitchell is vice president of global govern- ment relations for the Global Electronics Associa- tion, and an I-Connect007 columnist. To read past columns, click here. " " To remain innovative and competitive, electronics manufacturers will continue to depend on stable, far-sighted policy frameworks at home and abroad. C hris Mitchell