Joe Biden invokes Defense Production Act for PCB production

This is attributed to the White House viewing the technology as of growing 'importance to national defence'.

The act will see the Department of Defense invest in advanced microelectronics capacity to ensure production of state-of-the-art integrated circuits in the US. The DPA also allows the President to demand private companies prioritise contracts and orders for goods and services necessary for national defence, like from the military and other critical sectors.

Printed circuit boards (PCB) are used in things like missiles and radars, as well as electronics used in the energy and healthcare sector, and advanced packaging allows multiple devices to be packaged and mounted on a single electronic device, which allows for more complex circuits and more components to be used in smaller spaces.

"US industry cannot reasonably be expected to provide the capability for the needed industrial resource, material, or critical technology item in a timely manner," Biden told upon announcing the act.

A 2022 study indicates that China has the largest number of PCB manufacturers with 69 companies in the sector, almost doubling that of second place Taiwan. The United States, in comparison, has five PCB makers.

This reflects the importance the US has been putting on tech as of late. The President has made big pushes to reduce the US' alliance on foreign technology during his tenure in office, recently implementing the billion dollar CHIPS for America Act in another domestic production boosting act to shield the country from supply chain issues.

Citing concerns over a 'shortfall', Biden said: "I find that action to expand the domestic production capability for printed circuit boards and advanced packaging is necessary to avert an industrial resource or critical technology item shortfall that would severely impair national defence capability." The move is said to try to increase production by streamlining the bureaucratic procurement processes for those involved in making the technology.

This will have come as welcome news to industry groups who had been calling for such a move by Washington as early as 2022, saying there was not enough domestic production needed to support the US electronics manufacturing industry.

The announcement followed another act Biden signed in early 2023 to authorise the use of DPA Title III authorities to build the US hypersonics industrial base. Title III is part of the DPA which aims to reduce US dependence on foreign supply chains by working with the government and industry to identify areas where critical industrial capacity is lagging or non-existent. Both PCBs and hypersonics are focus areas in the President's "America's Supply Chains" plan.