Washington: Taiwan “was there and made essential contributions” at President Donald Trump’s Pax Silica summit on silicon supply chain security issues, a senior American official said Tuesday (U.S. time). “Taiwan was at the table and was absolutely present in all of the sessions in which one would expect Taiwan to play an important role,” United States Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg stated during a virtual press briefing.
According to Focus Taiwan, Helberg pushed back against “misperceptions” that Taiwan was sidelined from the U.S.-led strategic initiative, affirming that Taiwan participated in discussions on manufacturing and semiconductors. The U.S. State Department had earlier published a press release on December 11 that did not list Taiwan as one of the participants and guest contributors for the summit in Washington, D.C., held on December 12. However, Pax Silica’s website acknowledged Taiwan’s “guest contributions” alongside the European Union, Canada, and the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
In response to a question from a TaiwanPlus reporter, Helberg confirmed that Taiwan accepted a U.S. invitation to attend and “contributed a great deal to the meeting.” He explained that Washington opted not to duplicate ongoing talks with Taipei through the U.S.-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, emphasizing Taiwan’s “invaluable expertise” and “essential” role in global supply chains.
Helberg also mentioned that planners anticipate unveiling “several new members of the Pax Silica Declaration” in the first quarter of 2026. He requested “a little bit of room to let sensitive conversations unfold on a bilateral basis” when asked about Taiwan’s potential as a full participant.
According to a State Department fact sheet, the Pax Silica initiative is focused on building a “secure, prosperous, and innovation-driven silicon supply chain,” covering critical minerals, energy inputs, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, AI infrastructure, and logistic
s. The inaugural summit, convened by Helberg on December 12, brought together representatives from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and Australia. It is described as a “positive-sum partnership” rather than an effort to isolate other countries, despite Washington’s concerns over China’s technological advancements and dominance in rare earth supply chains, which have been identified as key drivers of the initiative.