In short, 2023 has been a very interesting year for the electronics industry in the halls of government. So far this year, we have witnessed many policy developments that IPC and its members and allies have been advocating for years.
In the spirit of reflecting on the year just passed and looking ahead to the new year, here are the highlights of IPC’s government policy advocacy efforts in 2023.
Throughout the year, the IPC Government Relations team keeps an eye on the sausage-making so you don’t have to, although we do need your help in the kitchen. Fortunately, over the last year, we’ve seen evidence that our collaborative efforts are working, setting the table for more progress going forward.
Have your say in our global PFAS usage and alternatives for electronics survey to better inform global policy and advocacy work on behalf of the industry that we serve.
How important is it to clean printed circuit boards to avoid electrical defects? According to Mike Konrad, Aqueous, a 4 percent reduction in peak reflow temperature can increase board contamination by up to 600 percent.
In another step forward for U.S. taxpayers, defense readiness, and the electronics industry supply chain, the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense has allocated $7.5 million for lead-free electronics R&D in FY 2022.
As revealed this week by an annual survey conducted by in4ma and sponsored by IPC Electronics Europe GmbH, the European electronics manufacturing services (EMS) industry experienced a robust 11 percent growth last year. Printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) production by EMS companies achieved record revenues of 57.3 billion Euros in 2023, underscoring electronics manufacturing’s vital role in the European economy and industrial base.
What does “advanced packaging” mean in the context of semiconductors and electronics manufacturing? And why is it so important to the future of the world? Those are the questions answered in simple language and imagery in a new 90-second video released by IPC.
In a time that feels more politically divided than ever, there are still policies that Americans generally agree on—and expanding workplace apprenticeships is one of them. Last week’s commemoration of National Apprenticeship Week gave us the opportunity to take a deeper dive into why apprenticeships have such bipartisan appeal and the important role they can play in supporting the U.S. electronics manufacturing industry.
Last week, Kelly Scanlon, the Global Electronics Association's lead sustainability strategist, represented the Association’s Evolve program at SERI’s e-Summit.