EU Joins US-Led Pax Silica Initiative to Secure AI and Semiconductor Supply Chains

The European Union, along with Germany, Greece, and the Netherlands, formally joined the U.S.-led Pax Silica partnership on June 23, 2026, during a summit in Washington hosted by the State Department. This expands the coalition—originally launched in December 2025 with founding members including Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Israel, Australia, the UK, and others—to include the EU as a full signatory, alongside additional participants like India, the Philippines, Sweden, and the UAE.

Pax Silica focuses on building trusted supply chains for semiconductors, critical minerals, energy, advanced manufacturing, and AI infrastructure, explicitly aiming to reduce dependencies on adversarial sources, particularly China's dominance in rare earth processing (estimated at 80-90% of refined supply). U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg emphasized the EU's role as the world's largest single market and highlighted specific contributions from member states, such as Germany's industrial base, Greece's shipping and location advantages, and the Netherlands' semiconductor equipment expertise.

The initiative includes practical projects, such as a U.S.-Philippines economic security zone in the Luzon Economic Corridor designated as the first "AI-native industrial acceleration hub." Discussions on critical minerals cooperation with countries like Kazakhstan are ongoing. Taiwan has endorsed the principles via a separate statement but remains a non-formal signatory.

This development aligns with broader U.S. efforts on export controls and allied coordination, while the EU integrates it into its industrial policy for supply-chain resilience. Official U.S. State Department documentation lists the EU and specific member states among signatories, confirming the June 23 accessions.