Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1544707
MAY 2026 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 17 That said, the temporary 15% rate on power supply PCAs and magnetics components creates a narrow window for companies to adjust. If your sourcing strategy includes products on the tempo- rary list, the clock is already ticking toward 2028 when those rates jump to 25%. Now is the time to evaluate designs, classify your products accurately, and model cost scenarios under both the current and future rate structures. What Comes Next The new Section 232 framework is broader and simpler in some ways, and more expensive in many others. For an industry that already operates on thin margins, the shift from metal content to full-value assessment is not a rounding error but a material change in the cost of doing business. Cybersecurity Roundtable: Start Now This multi-expert roundtable explores cybersecurity measures specific to electronics manufacturing. NEC's Watanabe Hiroyuki, Divyash Patel, CEO of MX2 Technologies, and Ali Pabrai, CEO at EC First, join mod- erator Nolan Johnson for a deeper discussion on cybersecurity certifications. The most important asset to a manufacturer is their data. Leadership must protect that data from attack. During this discussion, these experts lay the groundwork for cybersecurity strategies, security up and down the sup- ply chain, and specific programs, such as CMMC, IPC-1792, and NIST800-171. Security is only as strong as your weakest link, and ensuring cybersecurity along the supply chain means we'll all be links in much longer chains. In the next installment, I'll dig deeper into com- pliance strategies, documentation best practices, and how the new tariffs interact with other trade measures affecting electronics imports. In the meantime, if you haven't already mapped your product lines against the new tariff annexes, that should be at the top of your to-do list. The rules have changed, and for this industry, the stakes are higher than most people realize. James Kim is an international trade lawyer at ArentFox Schiff LLP.