ACTIVE ≠ LOW RISK: Finding Geopolitical and Obsolescence Risk Before the EOL Notice

An "Active" lifecycle status can provide a false sense of security. Long before a component is formally discontinued, other signals may already indicate growing risk to the products and systems that depend on it. In today's semiconductor landscape, many of those signals are geopolitical. Manufacturing concentration in a handful of regions, export controls and trade policy shifts between Europe, the USA, and China, single-source dependencies, and industrial policy decisions can all render an "Active" part vulnerable overnight. Combined with predicted lifecycle changes, limited alternatives, manufacturer activity, and compliance requirements, these factors signal vulnerability well before an EOL notice is issued.