WASHINGTON, DC -- New bipartisan legislation introduced by US Representatives Blake Moore (R-UT) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) encourages investment in a trusted, reliable domestic source of PCBs and substrates, and is generating plaudits from an industry association dedicated to building the domestic printed board industry.

The Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates Act of 2023 "finishes the job the Chips Act began by incentivizing investment in the domestic printed circuit board (PCB) industry," said the Printed Circuit Board Association of America in a press release. The Chips Act passed by Congress last year allocates tens of billions of dollars in direct funding and tax incentives to promote US technological superiority in semiconductor manufacturing. 

US PCB market share has shrunk over the past 20 years, falling from 30% in revenue terms to barely 4% of the world’s supply. Ninety percent of the world’s supply now comes from Asia, 56% from China.

Among the major provisions of the bill:

• $3 billion to fund factory construction, workforce development and R&D

• A 25% tax credit for purchasers of American-made PCBs and substrates

“Now is the moment for Congress to take decisive action by furthering robust legislation to reshore our manufacturing, strengthen our supply chains, and prioritize national security,” said Rep. Moore. “The Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates Act provides a tried-and-true approach to incentivizing American companies to produce printed circuit boards here at home, which will maintain the integrity of military and national security commercial materials, boost our economy and workforce, and usher in a new era of American manufacturing. The progress we have made on semiconductors is a significant step in the right direction, but congressional support for the entire microelectronics ecosystem is needed to reduce reliance on China. I am grateful to reintroduce this bill with Congresswoman Eshoo and am hopeful this bipartisan effort will successfully move through the legislative process.”

"Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are critical components of almost every piece of electronics used today," said Rep. Eshoo. "However, over the past two decades, a vast majority of PCB manufacturing has moved offshore, making PCBs vulnerable to tampering by foreign adversaries, and only 4% of PCBs are manufactured in the United States. If we want to ensure technological superiority across the global stage and strengthen national security, we need to bring PCB production back to America, which is exactly what my bipartisan bill does." 

“Remember, chips don’t float. They need PCBs to connect to any electronic device. With production of American-made semiconductors ramping up, PCBs are a key ingredient in revitalizing the nation’s microelectronics ecosystem. Without a robust domestic supply chain, we have become almost entirely reliant on foreign suppliers for the PCBs we need,” said Travis Kelly, chairman of the Printed Circuit Board Association of America.

Added PCBAA president Will Marsh, “Our industry is grateful for this bipartisan support for American-made microelectronics. This is the right response to years of offshoring and a dangerous dependence on foreign sourcing."

PCBAA executive director David Schild said, “From F-35s to F-150s, the modern world is built on printed circuit boards, and we need to make more of them in America. This bill will lead to new factories, high paying jobs and an ecosystem to support the work being done by our colleagues in the semiconductor industry."

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