United States Establishes the Pax Silica Initiative

Overview of the Pax Silica Initiative

On Dec. 12, the United States hosted representatives from Japan, Israel, Australia, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United Kingdom and the Republic of Korea to inaugurate the Pax Silica Initiative, a U.S.-led program designed to secure critical mineral supply chains and counter China’s dominance in the sector. Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg led the signing of the Pax Silica Declaration and hosted the signatories at the inaugural Pax Silica Summit in Washington, D.C. The United States touted the creation of the Pax Silica Initiative as the creation of “a new geopolitical consensus: economic security is national security, and national security is economic security.”

The Pax Silica Initiative aims to build a “secure, prosperous, and innovation driven silicon supply chain” to support access to critical minerals and energy inputs, promote and support additive manufacturing, semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, and logistics. The Pax Silica Initiative focuses on securing components of the technology supply chain, specifically software applications and platforms, frontier foundation models, information connectivity and network infrastructure, computers and semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, transportation logistics, mineral refining and processing, and energy.

The Trump administration established the Pax Silica Initiative to respond to the growing interest to deepen economic and technology cooperation with the United States, the increasing risk of dependencies on foreign adversaries for critical components of emerging technology, the evolving role of AI and recognition of the necessity for trustworthy systems, and the importance of allied cooperation to protect sensitive technologies and critical infrastructure.

The Trump administration expects the Pax Silica Initiative will establish a “durable economic order that underwrites an AI-driven era of prosperity across partner countries.” The coalition joins some of the top countries home to advanced technology companies uniquely positioned to guide the development of AI and its economic potential. Under Secretary Helberg noted the declaration creates the opportunity for joint research and development, manufacturing and infrastructure projects to compete against China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Pax Silica Preamble

The United States and Japan signed a joint preamble to the Pax Silia Declaration on Dec. 11 to reaffirm commitments to jointly pursue multilayered partnerships to strengthen supply chain security, address dependences on foreign adversaries and single-points of failure, and advance efforts to adopt trusted technology ecosystems. The United States and Japan discussed interests to expand collaboration to new flagship projects across global technology sectors, including connectivity and data infrastructure, computers and semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, logistics, mineral refining and processing, and energy.

Expected Outcomes of the Pax Silica Initiative

The signing of the Pax Silica Declaration launched the one-day Pax Silica Summit, which featured discussion about cooperation across advanced manufacturing, mineral refining and logistics. UnderSecretary Helberg described the coalition as a response to the development of the AI, as “the G7 was to the industrial age.” Members will look for solutions to align export controls, screen foreign investments, address anti-dumping, as well as resolve and secure choke points in the global supply chain system.

Coalition members affirmed a shared commitment to work toward joint projects to address AI supply chain opportunities or vulnerabilities. This includes pursuing critical minerals, semiconductors design, fabrication and packaging, logistics and transportation, computers, and energy grids and power generation. The Pax Silica Initiative aims to promote the pursuit of new joint ventures and strategic co-investment opportunities, including those designed to protect sensitive technologies and critical infrastructure from bad actors, countries of concern or other entities aiming to do harm.

The Pax Silica Initiative hopes that the shared commitments and establishment of joint ventures or co-investment programs will help build trusted technology ecosystems that span information and communications technology (ICT) systems, fiber-optic cables, data centers, foundational models and applications.

Under Secretary Helberg called on U.S. diplomats to utilize the Pax Silica Initiative to identify infrastructure projects and the coordination of economic security practices. The Trump administration aims to deploy investment and the creation of joint ventures to “build and deploy supply chains and information networks free from undue influence or control by countries or entities of concern.”

Pax Silica Related Investments

On Dec. 15, Korea Zinc announced it plans to build a $7.5 billion processing facility in Tennessee with support from the U.S. government. The facility is the first new zinc smelter and processing plant in the United States since the 1970s. The Pentagon will hold a 40% stake in the joint venture created for the project, with Korea Zinc holding less than 10%. The U.S. Department of Commerce anticipates $6.6 billion in investments for the project as part of the Pax Silica Initiative.

Korea Zinc will purchase Nyrstar USA’s East Tennessee and Mid Tennessee mines, as well as the Clarksville smelter to develop the large-scale smelting facility. The deal is expected to close in early 2026, and the smelter will be capable of refining zinc, lead, copper, gold, silver, antimony, germanium, gallium and other strategic minerals.

Next Steps

The United States and other Pax Silica Initiative coalition members will continue to review opportunities for collaboration in the critical minerals and advanced technologies sectors. The Pax Silica Initiative’s focus on deepening ties with trusted allies from across the globe reinforces the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce dependencies on China and promote the development of domestic capabilities while ensuring access to the global supply chain.

Under Secretary Helberg’s directive to U.S. diplomats will provide key opportunities for engagement on a range of programs that fit into the Pax Silica Initiative’s desired industries. We anticipate more announcements will be made in the coming weeks of investments or joint ventures related to critical mineral processing and smelting, quantum computing, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors or the energy industry.

Brownstein’s International and Critical Minerals teams are uniquely situated to help parties across the critical minerals and advanced technology sectors to engage with the Trump administration and others involved in the Pax Silica Initiative coalition. Our team successfully engages with officials across the Trump administration, Congress and foreign governments on issues related to the critical mineral supply chain and U.S.-China strategic competition. If you are interested in engaging on the Pax Silicia Initiative or international critical minerals issues, please contact one of the authors of this alert.

---

THIS DOCUMENT IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE YOU WITH GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE PAX SILICA INITIATIVE. THE CONTENTS OF THIS DOCUMENT ARE NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE SPECIFIC LEGAL ADVICE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CONTENTS OF THIS DOCUMENT OR IF YOU NEED LEGAL ADVICE AS TO AN ISSUE, PLEASE CONTACT THE ATTORNEYS LISTED OR YOUR REGULAR BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK, LLP ATTORNEY. THIS COMMUNICATION MAY BE CONSIDERED ADVERTISING IN SOME JURISDICTIONS.