WECC

WECC

Global electronic circuits council forms and signals global unity in support of ITA 2

Keywords Circuits, Electronics industry,WECC

Associations representing the electronic circuits industries in Asia, Europe and North America recently agreed to form the World Electronic Circuits Council (WECC). The WECC is a group of related industry trade associations from throughout the world that provides a forum and focus for bringing industry representatives together to address important issues that are best addressed on a global basis. Charter members of the WECC are:

• 1.

  China Printed Circuit Association.

• 2.

  India Printed Circuit Association.

• 3.

  IPC ­ Association Connecting Electronics Industries (USA).

• 4.

  Japan Printed Circuit Association.

• 5.

  Taiwan Printed Circuit Association.

• 6.

  European Federation of Interconnecting and Packaging ­ representing the following European national organizations:

  • Circuit Equipment Manufacturers Association (UK);

  • European Institute of Printed Circuits (Switzerland);

  • Printed Circuit Interconnection Federation (UK);

  • Verband der Lieterplattenindustrie e.V. (Germany).

"The changing structure of the electronics industry, brought about by the OEM's move away from vertical integration, is placing a growing need for the global PCB and EMS industries to come together on common global issues of concern," says Brian Haken, executive director of the Printed Circuit Interconnection Federation. "The formation of WECC has made this possible."

Although the WECC formally took several actions at its inaugural meeting in Germany, the most important was to formalize support for the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) 2. These organizations have been working together informally for over two years to build a global consensus in support of eliminating tariffs on the equipment and materials used in the manufacture and assembly of printed circuit boards. The negotiators for ITA 2 are currently considering an agreement that would eliminate tariffs on the equipment used in the manufacture and assembly of printed circuit boards. In a formal vote, the participating associations in the WECC voted unanimously to continue to support ITA 2 and urge negotiators to complete ITA 2, including the elimination of tariffs on equipment used in the manufacture and assembly of PCBs. Aside from the ITA 2, the Council established a number of other issues to tackle that have an impact on the global electronic circuit industry. The WECC agreed to:

• Cooperate in lobbying the European Commission to ensure that a viable alternative for lead solder is found before proceeding with the proposed ban in 2004.

• Begin work on the definition of a new value metric for the PCB industry.

• Create guidelines and design rules to promote faster and broader adoption of new high-density interconnect technologies.

The council elected to have IPC and its president, Thom Dammrich, serve as the initial secretariat of this new international council of trade associations in the electronic circuits industry. Both the secretariat and the chairmanship of the WECC will rotate among the member organizations.

The next meeting of the WECC is scheduled to be held during IPC Printed Circuits Expo '99 in Long Beach,California, March 14-18, 1999, at the Long Beach Convention Center.

For more information on the WECC, contact Brian Haken at +44 (0) 171 515 1166, or e-mail bhaken@pcif.org.uk