The PCBAA is on a mission to ensure domestic security via a revitalized American manufacturing base.

Across the United States, a quiet but urgent realization has been taking shape – one that echoes through defense briefings, aerospace reviews, medical device evaluations and critical infrastructure planning sessions. The nation that once led the world in electronics manufacturing now faces a stark truth: the ability to design and manufacture advanced electronics on domestic soil has diminished to dangerous levels.

This isn’t speculation. It’s not a theory. It’s a matter of national security.

Again and again, leaders across government and industry have expressed the same concern:
A country that cannot build its own electronics cannot secure its own future.

That fundamental truth fueled the creation and mission of the Printed Circuit Board Association of America (PCBAA) in 2021. The organization exists because the stakes are no longer academic – they are strategic, economic and deeply tied to national security and resilience.

How America Lost Its Electronics Backbone

Time was, North America’s electronics factories hummed with activity. Printed circuit boards flowed off production lines. Assemblers placed components with precision. Engineers developed new materials, architectures and processes. The region was a global leader in capability, innovation and capacity.

Over several decades, however, production gradually migrated offshore. First small projects, then major programs, then entire product lines. Lower costs dictated decisions, and lower-wage regions absorbed capability at an accelerating speed. The shift was slow enough to ignore in the moment, and large enough to reshape the entire global landscape.

Today, the numbers tell the story clearly:

• The US once produced over 30% of the value of the world’s PCBs.
• Now it produces approximately 4%.
• Advanced substrates and packaging – key to defense and high-performance electronics – are almost entirely absent domestically.

This erosion has left critical sectors dependent on foreign sources for the technologies that power missiles, fighter jets, space systems, medical devices, energy grids, telecommunications networks and more.

In a world where electronics are the nervous system and backbone of every modern system, losing domestic capability means losing control over reliability, quality, lead time, security and strategic independence.

The Strategic Risk of Outsourcing Electronics

Consider what it means when a nation no longer manufactures the vital circuitry behind:

• Missile guidance
• Radar systems
• Secure communications
• Power management for spacecraft
• Implantable medical equipment
• Transportation safety systems
• Intelligence platforms
• Energy grid monitoring.

These aren’t consumer gadgets. They are the pillars of national power, public safety and economic stability.

Relying on overseas production introduces unacceptable risks:

• Supply chain disruption
• Intellectual property theft
• Counterfeit component infiltration
• Geopolitical leverage
• Production delays during global crises
• Loss of technical expertise
• Reduced innovation capacity.

National security is not just tanks and aircraft. It is the ability to manufacture the electronics that makes those systems function. Without secure, domestic technology manufacturing, even the most advanced military platform is compromised before it leaves the ground.

This reality is what drives the mission of PCBAA.

Why PCBAA Emerged and Why it Matters

PCBAA was created at a time when the consequences of decades of offshoring had become undeniable. The nation needed a unified voice that could:

• Advocate for restoring domestic electronics manufacturing
• Educate policymakers about supply chain vulnerabilities
• Elevate the importance of PCBs and PCB assemblies
• Strengthen the infrastructure required for advanced technology production
• Support investment in US-based capability
• Connect industry leaders in a shared movement to rebuild.

The organization was not formed to maintain the status quo. It was built to change it.

PCBAA represents designers, PCB fabricators, assemblers, materials companies and equipment and testing suppliers – every essential link in the electronics manufacturing ecosystem. Its mission is to create a coordinated front capable of influencing policy, shaping national priorities, and driving real industrial resurgence.

Membership is Momentum

In most associations, membership benefits the individual company. With PCBAA, membership strengthens the entire sector.

• Each member adds weight to national advocacy efforts.
• Each member amplifies the case for investment and reshoring.
• Each member contributes to a unified message to Congress, defense agencies and OEMs.
• North America is committed to rebuilding its electronics manufacturing capability.

This collective voice is how industries change course. It is how legislation gets written, how incentives get created, how reshoring gains traction and how new capacity becomes commercially viable.

The message becomes stronger with every company that joins.

Membership directly fuels:

1. National security advocacy. Educating policymakers on the risks of foreign dependence for critical electronics and pushing for incentive structures that rebuild US capability.
2. Industry visibility and influence. Increasing awareness among defense and commercial OEMs about the importance of choosing domestic partners.
3. Reshoring initiatives. Driving policies and funding that encourage manufacturers to expand U.S.-based operations.
4. A unified industry platform. Creating a collaborative space where manufacturers, designers, suppliers and assemblers can align on shared national priorities.

These are not abstract goals; they are foundational to America’s technological future.

That is how America’s electronics backbone is restored, and I encourage you to engage with the PCBAA team to learn more about how to become a member today and be part of the mission. For more info, visit pcbaa.org.

Dan Beaulieu is a longtime management consultant to the printed circuit industry and a member of the PCBAA; danbbeaulieu@aol.com.