Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates Act

On May 19, 2026, Sen. Gallego (D-AZ) introduced S.4569, the Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates Act. The bill was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. There is one cosponsor, Sen. Justice (R-WV). The bill is at the earliest legislative stage — no hearings, markups, or votes have occurred. The timing of passage is uncertain even within the 119th Congress (2025–2027).

The bill creates a new tax credit under Section 45BB of the Internal Revenue Code: 25% of the amount paid or incurred by a taxpayer to purchase or acquire printed circuit boards that are fabricated in the United States. This is an incentive for U.S. PCB buyers to source domestically — it is not a mandate. The credit becomes part of the general business credit. There is no authorized appropriation amount because the bill creates a tax expenditure. The Joint Committee on Taxation has not yet scored it. Actual revenue foregone depends on adoption.

Winners are domestic printed circuit board fabricators and their supply chain. Pure-play U.S. PCB manufacturers include TTM Technologies (ticker $TTMI, but its U.S. fabrication presence is not clearly dominant; most production is in China and Asia), and Sanmina ($SANM) which operates U.S. PCB facilities. Methode Electronics ($MEI) has a PCB segment that could see incremental demand. Key electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers like Jabil ($JBL), Flex ($FLEX), Celestica ($CLS) and Dell ($DELL) would see a modest tailwind in component costs. Losers are Asian PCB exporters, particularly from China, Taiwan, and Japan — companies like Unimicron, Ibiden, AT&S, and Zhen Ding, but these are not directly investable via ADRs easily. No major U.S.-listed firm is structurally hurt.

No real market data was provided for any PCB or EMS tickers, so no specific price trend analysis is included. However, note that the supply chain is deeply global; most PCB fabrication (over 50%) occurs in China. The credit is insufficient to reshore large volumes given the capital intensity of advanced PCB fabrication, but will support existing domestic capacity.

Legislative timeline: The bill must pass through the Senate Finance Committee, then the full Senate, then the House (via a companion bill — none introduced yet), then be signed into law. Given the majority-minority split, a standalone bill unlikely to advance unless attached to a larger tax extenders or competitiveness package. Earliest potential passage is late 2026 or 2027. The credit would apply to taxable years after enactment.