OVERVIEW
Pax Silica is a State Department-led group of countries working to secure supply chains for AI, from minerals and energy to chips and data centers. The administration announced that it will work with Congress to allocate $250 million of State Department foreign assistance resources to attract private and sovereign capital for Pax Silica-associated projects. Two formal summits (December 2025 and June 2026) have convened government and industry leaders to advance investment and policy cooperation. As of September 2026, it has 24 members and will likely continue to expand.
- Lead: U.S. Department of State, Under Secretary for Economic Affairs
- Membership (24 signatories): Argentina, Australia, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, EU, Finland, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Philippines, Qatar, South Korea, Singapore, Sweden, UAE, UK, and the U.S.[1]
- How Pax Silica works: Coordinates public and private sector efforts to address investment, supply chains, security, and infrastructure.
- Relevance to Congress: The administration is executing Pax Silica using existing authorities. Appropriations for programs are generally provided through the Senate Subcommittee for State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs and the House Subcommittee for National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs. Oversight primarily sits with the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs Committees.
Structure & Operations
| Focus Area | Stated Approach |
| Investment | Pursue joint ventures and strategic co-investment opportunities with members and the private sector to strengthen technology supply chains and reduce coercive dependencies. |
| Security | Prevent countries of concern from gaining access to or control over sensitive technologies and critical infrastructure. |
| Technology & infrastructure | Build secure technology networks and infrastructure, including ICT systems, fiber-optic cables, data centers, AI models, and applications. |
Tools named so far include joint ventures, co-investment, long-term purchase agreements, and foreign assistance funding, including a proposed $250 million Pax Silica Fund. To date, no such allocation has been publicly announced. The Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Jacob Helberg, has indicated that the Pax Silica Fund will be part of a larger “consortium” with other sovereign and private investors, including Japan’s SoftBank, Singapore’s Temasek, and the UAE’s Mubadala.
Supporting Program: MINIVEST is a State Department–SAFE partnership that builds private-sector capacity and connections in target countries through workshops, convenings, and ongoing matchmaking to support Pax Silica, among other programs.
Pax Silica has begun proposing projects, although several remain preliminary.
| Initiative | Summary / Status |
| Panama pilot: “Pax Pass” | A proposed trusted-shipper platform for cargo moving through Panama’s ports and customs, combining cargo verification, risk assessment, and expedited processing for approved shipments. The State Department issued a competitive cooperative agreement for up to $50 million, with up to three awards anticipated. Applications closed August 20, 2026; no award has been announced. |
| Philippines hub | The Philippines joined Pax Silica in April 2026 and proposed a 4,000-acre industrial hub in New Clark City focused on advanced manufacturing. The Philippine government estimates the project could attract $40–$70 billion in investment and create more than 130,000 jobs, but these figures are targets rather than committed investment. A formal agreement with the U.S. remains under negotiation. |
| Foundry School | Launched September 3, 2026, Foundry School is a flagship workforce-development initiative built around an advanced manufacturing curriculum developed by Stanford University. It includes seven regional sessions hosted across partner universities beginning in September 2026, and a 10-session core program at Stanford beginning in January 2027. Enrollment, cost, and dedicated funding have not been publicly specified. |
Remaining Questions:
- To what extent will Pax Silica prioritize critical minerals projects? Pax Silica has a broad scope, and it is unclear to what degree minerals projects will be prioritized.
- What mechanisms will Pax Silica use to prevent undue access or control by countries of concern? No specific mechanism—like a new screening process or coordinating existing national regimes—has been confirmed.
- What tools, beyond investment, will Pax Silica use? Pax Pass provides one concrete example, but broader implementation mechanisms remain undefined.
- Will development finance institutions (DFIs) and Export Credit Agencies (ECA) support Pax Silica? Unclear. While the State Department has explicitly referenced the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and the Export-Import Bank of the United States in its Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement (FORGE) announcements, it has not referenced these agencies when discussing Pax Silica.
- Will the administration coordinate Pax Silica with other critical mineral initiatives? The administration has made securing critical minerals supply chains a top policy priority, launching efforts like Pax Silica, FORGE, and Project Vault. It is unclear how these initiatives will be coordinated. Likewise, it is unclear how Pax Silica and FORGE, both State Department programs, will divide responsibilities.
[1] Taiwan has endorsed the Pax Silica Declaration principles via a separate joint statement, without being a full signatory