Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - IPC Urges Trump Administration to Take Measured Approach in Levying Higher Tariffs on Electronics from China

BANNOCKBURN, IL -- IPC is warning that higher tariffs on electronics imported from China will increase costs to US businesses and consumers while not making a dent in the trade deficit.

The trade group took issue with President Trump’s decision to impose higher tariffs on a slew of Chinese imports, including consumer electronics.

"Steep and broadly applied tariffs will increase the cost of technology products for US consumers and businesses without an appreciable impact on the balance of trade between the two countries. The new tariffs, moreover, are likely to lead to the imposition of retaliatory trade barriers by China and other nations and disrupt the established supply chains of US companies, affecting their agility and competitiveness in the global marketplace," IPC said in a press release.

IPC said it will provide comments on the measure to the Trump administration on behalf of the electronics industry.

“This action undermines the Trump’s administration’s meaningful efforts to boost the U.S. economy and undervalues the interconnected nature of the electronics supply chain,” said John Mitchell, president and CEO, IPC. “IPC supports efforts to ensure open and fair trade through the negotiation, implementation, and enforcement of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements. We encourage efforts by officials in the US and China to resolve these differences swiftly, with as little economic disruption as possible.”

Protection of intellectual property consistently ranks as a top priority for the electronics industry. To this end, IPC maintains a set of industry standards and a certification program that enable electronics manufacturers to demonstrate how they are protecting their customers’ intellectual property. IPC also is working with the US Department of Defense to develop a new standard on this issue. It is unclear what impact, if any, such standards could have on China policy, which requires many companies to partner with domestic firms or license their technology in order to access the Chinese market.