President Obama signed the $700 billion Defense Act on New Years Eve. It is packed full of many controversial issues and one which relates directly to the semiconductor industry. Buried in this act is an amendment which requires defense contractors to eliminate counterfeit electronic components from their manufacturing process. Suppliers will now have increased legal liability if they sell counterfeits into the military supply chain whether or not they created the counterfeits or even if unknowingly distributed them. The detailed language of the amendment describes how the contractors are responsible for avoiding counterfeits, detecting them in their supply chain, and if they are unsuccessful in doing so, pay for the replacement and rework of the equipment. Previously the taxpayers might have footed the bill if there was a major expenditure due to counterfeit components in military products. There is also a clause that would eliminate the contractor from supplying future products to the U.S. Military if they are not diligently working to keep counterfeits from their production lines. To read more about this important legislation please click here.
Robb Hammond, founder and president of AERI (American Electronic Resource, Inc.). Founding member and former committee chair of the SAE AS6081 Standard created for the avoidance of counterfeit electronic components. Robb founded AERI in Costa Mesa, California, in 1994 as an independent distributor of hard-to-find, obsolete and allocated electronic components. AERI is AS9120B, ISO 9001:2015 and AS6081 certified, tests to AS6171 standards, and inspects every part in its in-house QC lab before it ships. Robb writes about electronic component shortages, sourcing strategy and counterfeit avoidance.
