Congressman Blake Moore and Senator Josh Hawley Introduce the Strengthening Protections Against Chinese Printed Circuit Boards Act to Secure DOD Supply Chains
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Congressman Blake Moore (R-UT) and Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced the Strengthening Protections Against Chinese Printed Circuit Boards Act. This legislation expands the prohibition of Chinese-purchased printed circuit boards (PCBs) in military hardware to all critical national security commercial items—including cloud servers and networks—and accelerates the phase out of Chinese PCBs in critical systems within 5 years. Last year, the House Armed Services Committee banned the sourcing of defense electronics from China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia and extended trusted supplier requirements for printed circuit boards. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021 was a crucial first step in establishing a trusted network of PCB manufacturers here in the United States and amongst our allies. However, the Strengthening Protections Against Chinese Circuit Boards Act further reduces supply chain vulnerabilities and reliance on China while encouraging our defense industrial base to reshore our defense manufacturing efforts.
“The COVID-19 pandemic made it abundantly clear that we cannot continue to rely on China to secure our supply chains. When it comes to military hardware or national security commercial items, this rings doubly true.” said Congressman Blake Moore. “There has never been a greater impetus to reshore our manufacturing and secure our supply chains. This legislation maintains the momentum of last year’s progress, and I look forward to seeing these provisions included in the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2022.”
Just 30 years ago, the United States had a robust community of more than 2,000 printed circuit board manufacturers, maintaining 40% share of the global market. Today, with fewer than 200 domestic manufacturers, the Strengthening Protections Against Chinese Printed Circuit Boards Act not only maintains the integrity of military and national security commercial items, but it will also help fuel the resurgence of American manufacturing.
The bill text can be found here, and it can also be found in Section 851 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022.
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