Summary

• The Trump administration has launched Section 301 trade investigations into 16 major trading partners, including China, the EU, Japan, India, and Mexico, with electronics identified as a sector of concern.

• The investigations follow the Supreme Court ruling against IEEPA-based tariffs and use Section 301, which requires a formal process with public comments and hearings before any trade remedies.

• No new tariffs yet, but potential future trade actions could affect the electronics supply chain; the Global Electronics Association will submit comments and encourage members to participate.

The Trump administration yesterday announced the launch of Section 301 trade investigations into 16 key trading partners, including China, the European Union, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan, and India.

The investigations, conducted by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), are aimed at addressing what the administration characterizes as unfair trade practices relating to structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors. Electronics were specifically identified as an area of concern.

Jamieson Greer, the USTR, has also signaled that additional investigations will be launched related to digital services taxes and discrimination against U.S. technology companies, among other practices.

The backdrop: A new legal path after the IEEPA ruling

This action follows the Supreme Court of the United States’ February 20 ruling striking down the administration’s tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The move represents a significant shift in the legal framework the administration is using to pursue its trade agenda.

Unlike tariffs imposed under IEEPA, investigations conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 require a formal investigative process. This includes public comment periods and hearings before tariffs or other remedies can be implemented. The administration has indicated it intends to move on an accelerated timeline.

Why it matters: Potential impacts across the electronics supply chain

While no new tariffs are being imposed today, the investigations lay the groundwork for potential future trade actions that could directly affect companies across the electronics value chain — from semiconductor sourcing to finished systems.

What members should do: Prepare comments and engagement

The Global Electronics Association will file comments with the USTR by the April 15 deadline and has submitted a request to testify at the May 5 hearings. The association encourages member companies to prepare their own comments as well.

What’s next: Monitoring developments

We will continue to monitor these investigations and provide updates as developments occur. In the meantime, members with questions are encouraged to reach out to the Global Electronics Association advocacy team.

Key Summary

• A look at three fascinating ideas shaping scientific and legal thinking—from the long-term fate of the universe to the surprising historical clues hidden in mosquito genetics.

• The post also explores the emerging “Rights of Nature” movement, including legal protections for wild rice and ecosystems.

By David Bergman, vice president, international relations, Global Electronics Association

Every so often I come across a few pieces that make me pause, think, and occasionally reconsider how we look at the world, whether that world is the global electronics ecosystem, human history, or the universe itself. My reading list tends to wander across disciplines, but the common thread is perspective. Good writing, and good science, can stretch our sense of time, scale, and consequence in useful ways. Taken together, the pieces below range from cosmology to evolutionary biology to environmental law. What they share is a willingness to ask unconventional questions, and to find answers in places we might not normally think to look.

This Is the End. My Only Friend, the End.

Cosmologists have identified several ways the universe could eventually end, none particularly festive. 

The most likely scenario is heat death. As the universe expands, energy becomes increasingly spread out. Over trillions of years, stars burn out, galaxies fade, and the cosmos settles into a cold, dark state where no new structure forms. A more dramatic possibility is the Big Rip, in which dark energy becomes strong enough to tear apart galaxies, stars, planets, and eventually atoms.

Another idea is the Big Crunch, in which gravity reverses expansion and collapses the universe back into a dense state. Then there’s vacuum decay, a theoretical event where a new quantum state sweeps across the universe at light speed, rewriting the laws of physics.

But before you run out and start to party away your retirement fund, every known scenario unfolds billions to trillions of years in the future. So, we have that going for us.

Mosquito DNA May Track Early Human Migration

Often unofficially referred to as “State Bird” of Alaska, Minnesota, New Jersey, and others, mosquitoes may be unwelcome, but they may also be useful historians. It turns out these mini vampires have been dining on humans for almost 2 million years

A genomic study of Southeast Asian Anopheles mosquitoes investigated when certain species evolved a preference for human blood. By analyzing mosquito genomes, researchers reconstructed the evolutionary timeline of mosquitoes. The findings suggest mosquitoes began specializing in biting humans about 1.8 million years ago, well before modern humans reached the region.

The timing aligns with the spread of Homo erectus, an early human ancestor. As these hominins moved through Southeast Asia, mosquitoes that fed on them likely gained an evolutionary advantage, eventually becoming the human-biting species responsible for transmitting malaria today. Because the fossil record in the region is sparse, mosquito genetics offer an unexpected clue about early human presence.

In short: long before humans studied mosquitoes, mosquitoes were adapting to humans.

If Only Rice Could Vote: When Nature Gets Legal Standing

A growing legal movement argues that nature itself should have rights—and in some places, it already does.

The White Earth Band of Ojibwe in Minnesota has recognized the legal rights of manoomin, or wild rice, a plant central to Anishinaabe culture and food traditions. The law asserts that wild rice has the right to exist, flourish, and grow in clean water. Under this approach, environmental damage that threatens wild rice could be challenged in court on the plant’s behalf.

This idea is part of the broader Rights of Nature movement, which seeks to give ecosystems legal standing. Ecuador has embedded these principles in its constitution, and New Zealand has granted legal personhood to a river. The concept may sound unusual—but in a legal system where corporations are already treated as “people,” extending rights to ecosystems is becoming easier to imagine.

Key Summary:

• At the IEEE Electronics Packaging Society Annual HIR Symposium, the Global Electronics Association addressed the transition from component-level to system-level packaging.
• Contributions to the International Heterogeneous Integration Roadmap focus on assembly and reliability challenges in high-performance compute and analog/mixed-signal applications.
• Advanced packaging is enabling silicon photonics, optical interconnects, and co-packaged optics for next-generation data center performance.
• Liquid cooling is becoming foundational for high-performance computing architectures.
• Expanded global collaboration, including engagement through HIR and international partners, strengthens industry alignment and roadmap-driven innovation.

By Devan Iyer, Chief Strategist, Advanced Electronic Packaging, Global Electronics Association

At the recent IEEE Electronics Packaging Society Annual HIR Symposium, I had the opportunity to speak about a topic at the center of advanced electronic packaging: bridging the gap between component-level and system-level packaging.

The International Heterogeneous Integration Roadmap (HIR)

HIR is a trusted compass for our industry, outlining projected technological needs and innovation opportunities over the next 10-15 years. Unlike commercial forecasts, HIR focuses on technical assessment, identifying challenges, research gaps, and the possible solutions required to integrate emerging devices and materials at scale. For many, it’s the first place we look to understand where the industry is heading.

As functionality integration intensifies, the transition between these stages becomes increasingly complex due to higher performance needs, decreasing form factors, and finer interconnect pitches. I presented on the assembly and reliability challenges that arise when moving from individual packaged components to fully realized system architectures. 

Through our Advanced Electronic Packaging Technology Leadership Council (ADEPT), the Global Electronics Association collaborates with industry leaders to address these issues. In 2025, our members contributed to two HIR chapters, including assembly and reliability, covering critical package-board interactions in high-performance compute and analog/mixed-signal applications. This work represents a major step forward in aligning component innovation with system performance and reliability.

Our presence at the symposium was important as it built on the work we have done in the past year. Following an invitation to host a special session together with HIR at the 2025 Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC), widely regarded as the premier global conference in advanced packaging, we expanded the conversation internationally. Also in 2025, we organized a workshop and engaged with partners in Taiwan and Malaysia. Each stop strengthened our network and sharpened our understanding of where the opportunities are.  A blog entry on advanced electronic packaging in Malaysia can be found here.

Top Three Highlights from the HIR Symposium

1. High-Speed Communication & Optical Interconnects
   Data center performance demands are accelerating the adoption of silicon photonics, optical interconnects, and co-packaged optics. Advanced packaging will be pivotal in enabling this architecture.
2. Liquid Cooling is a Necessity
   For high-performance computing, liquid cooling is no longer optional; it is foundational. The Association is actively developing guidelines and standards to support implementation.
3. Collaboration Drives Impact
   The partnership between the Global Electronics Association and IEEE’s HIR teams is increasing visibility and strengthening industry alignment. Collaboration ensures that roadmap insights translate into actionable progress.

What’s Next?

Looking ahead, we want to expand our technical contributions to the HIR Roadmap into the automotive, aerospace, and defense markets.  We have been invited to contribute to an extension of the automotive chapter, with a specific focus on electronics packaging for electric vehicles, and we will begin that work this year. 

We are proud to be part of a robust global community of companies that contribute insights, identify challenges, and collaborate on solutions. That visibility matters. Roadmaps only work when the full supply chain participates, all building toward shared technical goals.

Key Summary

• The escalating Middle East conflict is creating cascading risks for global electronics manufacturing, raising energy and shipping costs, disrupting supply chains, and prompting countries like India, South Korea, and Malaysia to reassess growth, demand, and lead-time expectations.

By Sanjay Huprikar, Chief Global Officer, Global Electronics Association

The conflict in the Middle East will have a dramatic impact on electronics manufacturing both from a supply and demand perspective. Most countries around the globe are sure to face issues ranging from reduction in oil supply to increase in shipping costs to massive logistics related disruptions.   

This week I had the opportunity to read three articles depicting the views of the conflict from three very different manufacturing countries in Asia: India, South Korea, and Malaysia.  

The Iran-US-Israel war: A looming economic storm - Manufacturing Today India

Korea Inc. reviews Middle East plans, watches Strait of Hormuz closely after airstrikes on Iran

Oil, trade and uncertainty: What the Middle East conflict means for Malaysia’s economy

My quick takeaways on their key concerns:

• India is anticipating a slowdown in growth that could affect their exports
• South Korea is worrying about having to scale back development projects and a decrease in consumer demand
• Malaysia is having to forecast longer lead times due to supply chain delays  

Please feel free to drop me a line at SanjayHuprikar@electronics.org if you saw value reading these pieces or if you disagreed with the stances taken by these authors; and feel free to highlight some additional articles on this subject that you have read and think I should be reading too!