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FEBRUARY 2026 I I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE 29 own reconnaissance of the show along with two other wives, and was standing right behind him as he extolled the virtues of the young lady. Mrs. JerBear had one of those "We'll talk about this later, Buster" looks in her eyes. It was most amus- ing to see how flustered the normally self-assured and exuberant JerBear got when he realized she was there. Another Story for Another Time Last year, I concluded my APEX EXPO preview column by saying I had intended to tell the story of being kicked out of Disneyland at one show Electronics Trade in a Persistent Tariff Environment Tariffs affecting the electronics sector were largely still in place at the end of 2025, even as the pace of new announcements slowed, and several electronics-relevant investigations and legal ques- tions pushed key decisions into 2026. For compa- nies operating global electronics supply chains, tariffs are no longer a short-term disruption; they are part of the operating environment. The costs facing electronics manufacturers are no longer limited to the tariff rates we see in headlines. Changes to de minimis rules, stricter enforcement of trade agreements, logistics- related fees, and actions affecting key inputs such as semiconductors and copper, now influence costs, lead times, and sourcing decisions just as much as product-level tariffs. In many cases, these measures act like tariffs even when they are not labeled as such. Mexico and Canada: Tariffs Take a Back Seat to USMCA Friction From a North American electronics perspective, tariffs were not the dominant constraint shaping cross-border activity at the end of 2025. While BY T H I AG O G U I M A R A E S , G LO BA L E LECTR O N I C S AS S O C IATI O N targeted tariffs on non-U.S. Mexico-Canada Agree- ment (USMCA) goods remained in force for both Mexico and Canada, the more consequential fric- tion increasingly arose from how USMCA rules are interpreted, enforced, and audited in practice. For electronics manufacturers operating highly integrated production networks across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, compliance complex- ity (i.e., product classification, documentation, and origin verification) often functioned as a tariff equiv- alent. These frictions add cost, delay shipments, and increase uncertainty even when nominal tariff rates are unchanged. In Mexico's case, the coexistence of zero-rated measures alongside targeted non- USMCA tariffs further underscores that policy execu- tion, not tariff escalation, is the primary risk vector. Looking ahead, the North American electron- ics ecosystem enters 2026 with relatively stable tariff rates but continued exposure to enforcement- driven volatility make predictability and regulatory alignment as important as formal trade policy. ARTICLE EXCERPT but that, unfortunately, I had run out of column space, and it would have to wait. I fully intended to include that story in this column but once again, I see I'm out of column space so it will just have to another year. I-CONNECT007 Don Ball is a process engineer at Chemcut. To read past columns or contact Ball, click here. Continue reading this article in the February 2026 issue of SMT007 Magazine T H E C H E M I CA L C O N N ECT I O N