Pull to refresh
Logo
Daily Brief
Following Why Ranks Sign Up
Pax Silica: America's new technology bloc

Pax Silica: America's new technology bloc

Rule Changes

The U.S. builds an AI-era alliance to counter China's silicon dominance

January 29th, 2026: U.S. confirms India will join Pax Silica in February

Overview

For the first time since COCOM dissolved in 1994, the United States is assembling a formal technology bloc. Taiwan—the world's dominant chip manufacturer—signed the Pax Silica Declaration on January 27, 2026, joining Israel, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Netherlands, UK, Australia, Qatar, and the UAE.

The signing occurred during the U.S.-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, with Under Secretary Jacob Helberg and Taiwan's Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin witnessing AIT and TECRO endorse principles of 'mutual prosperity, technological progress, and supply chain resilience.' Two days later, Helberg confirmed India will join in February 2026, bringing the world's two largest democracies and 90% of advanced chip production into a single coalition. This is a structural shift in how Washington manages technology competition: rather than relying on export controls alone, the U.S. is building an affirmative bloc pooling compute, critical minerals, energy, and manufacturing capacity.

The U.S. adjusted its H200 chip policy to 'case-by-case review' on January 13. The coalition's expansion into the Gulf (Qatar and UAE bring over $1.5 trillion in sovereign wealth) and Taiwan's participation address two gaps that limited previous coordination: capital for infrastructure buildout and access to cutting-edge fabrication. The question is whether this 'coalition of capabilities' can achieve what COCOM never quite managed: sustained technological advantage through genuine coordination.

Questions about this story

No questions yet — be the first to ask.

Play on this story Voices Debate Who Said What? Predict

Key Indicators

10
Member countries
Nations that have signed the Pax Silica Declaration as of January 2026
$1.5T+
Sovereign wealth
Combined sovereign fund assets of Qatar and UAE members
90%
Advanced chip share
Percentage of cutting-edge semiconductor production controlled by member states (primarily Taiwan)
$44B
Israeli chip exits
Total value of Israeli semiconductor company acquisitions since 1996

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Ever wondered what historical figures would say about today's headlines?

Sign up to generate historical perspectives on this story.

Log in Sign Up

Play

Exploring all sides of a story is often best achieved with Play.

Log in to play. Track your picks, climb the leaderboards. Log in Sign Up
Predict 4 ways this could play out. Contrarian picks score more — points lock when the scenario resolves. Log in to play
Timeline Five events from this story — drag them oldest to newest. Log in to play
Connections Sixteen names from the news. Find the four hidden groups of four. Log in to play

People Involved

Jacob Helberg
Jacob Helberg
Leading Pax Silica implementation
 Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Erez Eskel
Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Erez Eskel
Signed Pax Silica framework for Israel
 Gideon Sa'ar
Gideon Sa'ar
Attended Pax Silica signing ceremony
 Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Witnessed Pax Silica signing in Jerusalem
 Kung Ming-hsin
Kung Ming-hsin
Signed Pax Silica framework for Taiwan

Organizations Involved

Pax Silica Initiative
Pax Silica Initiative
International Technology Coalition
Operational with 10 member states, India joining February 2026

U.S.-led coalition organizing allied nations around compute, silicon, minerals, and energy as shared strategic assets.
IN
Israel National AI Directorate
Government Agency
Operational within Prime Minister's Office

Israeli government body coordinating national AI strategy, infrastructure, and international partnerships.

Timeline

October 2022 January 2026

12 events Latest: January 29th, 2026 · 4 months ago Showing 8 of 12
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. U.S. confirms India will join Pax Silica in February

    Latest Diplomacy

    Under Secretary Helberg announces at Hudson Institute that India will sign the declaration next month, calling it a 'historic milestone' that would add the world's largest democracy to the coalition.

  2. Taiwan signs Pax Silica Declaration

    Agreement

    AIT and TECRO sign joint statement on the Pax Silica Declaration during the sixth U.S.-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue. Taiwan controls approximately 90% of advanced chip manufacturing globally.

  3. Israel signs first bilateral AI framework with U.S.

    Agreement

    Eskel and Helberg sign memorandum in Jerusalem covering joint R&D across AI, semiconductors, space, and energy. Plans announced for 'Fort Foundry One' industrial park.

  4. UAE joins Pax Silica

    Diplomacy

    The UAE signs the declaration, adding over $1 trillion in sovereign fund assets and its 5 GW AI data center plans to the alliance.

  5. U.S. shifts H200 chip export policy to 'case-by-case review'

    Policy

    BIS changes license review for H200-equivalent chips (TPP <21,000, bandwidth <6,500 GB/s) from 'presumption of denial' to 'case-by-case' assessment for China. Simultaneously, White House imposes 25% tariff on same chips effective same day.

  6. Qatar signs Pax Silica Declaration

    Diplomacy

    Qatar becomes the first Gulf state to join, bringing its $524 billion sovereign wealth fund into the coalition.

  7. Inaugural Pax Silica Summit in Washington

    Diplomacy

    Helberg convenes representatives from eight nations. Japan, Israel, Australia, Singapore, and South Korea sign the founding declaration.

  8. U.S. bans B30A chip sales to China

    Policy

    White House announces ban on Nvidia's scaled-down B30A chips to China, closing the last major loophole for advanced AI hardware.

  9. China bans H20 chip purchases

    Policy

    Beijing orders Chinese companies to stop purchasing Nvidia's H20 chips, escalating the semiconductor decoupling.

  10. DeepSeek release intensifies U.S.-China AI competition

    Technology

    China's DeepSeek open-source model demonstrates competitive AI capabilities built with limited U.S. technology, prompting calls for stronger decoupling measures.

  11. Trump nominates Helberg and Huckabee

    Appointment

    President-elect Trump announces Jacob Helberg as Under Secretary for Economic Affairs and Mike Huckabee as Ambassador to Israel.

  12. Biden administration imposes AI chip export controls on China

    Policy

    The U.S. restricts sales of advanced AI chips and chip-making equipment to China, beginning the current phase of semiconductor competition.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1949-1994

COCOM: The Original Technology Bloc (1949-1994)

Seventeen Western nations—NATO members plus Japan and Australia—coordinated export controls to deny the Soviet Union access to strategic technologies, particularly computing equipment and semiconductors. COCOM maintained extensive control lists but operated through consensus without legal enforcement, leading to significant leakage including the 1983 VAX supercomputer diversion and the Toshiba-Kongsberg scandal.

Then

COCOM limited Soviet access to some advanced technology, forcing Moscow to develop parallel systems at significant cost.

Now

The regime dissolved in 1994 after the Cold War ended. Its successor, the Wassenaar Arrangement, lacks COCOM's targeting and enforcement, operating on voluntary transparency rather than coordinated denial.

Why this matters now

Pax Silica attempts what COCOM could not achieve: genuine coordination among technology-holding nations against a competitor deeply embedded in global supply chains. Unlike 1949, China controls significant semiconductor manufacturing capacity, making complete exclusion impossible.

2022-Present

Chip 4 Alliance Attempt (2022-Present)

The Biden administration proposed a 'Chip 4 Alliance' of the U.S., Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan—collectively responsible for 82% of global semiconductor production. The initiative aimed to coordinate semiconductor policy following COVID-19 supply chain disruptions, with Taiwan and South Korea focusing on production while Japan handled materials.

Then

South Korea participated cautiously, wary of Chinese economic retaliation. No formal treaty or binding commitments emerged.

Now

The informal grouping laid groundwork for Pax Silica's more explicit bloc structure but demonstrated the difficulty of coordinating nations with competing economic interests in China.

Why this matters now

Pax Silica expands beyond Chip 4's narrow semiconductor focus to the full AI supply chain—minerals, energy, manufacturing, compute—while adding Gulf capital and European technology. The broader coalition trades depth for breadth.

1980s-Present

U.S.-Israel Strategic Technology Cooperation (1980s-Present)

Israel became a major U.S. technology partner through defense cooperation that spawned civilian applications. Intel established its first non-U.S. development center in Israel in 1974. By 2025, Intel had invested over $50 billion in Israel; Israeli semiconductor exits totaled $44 billion, including Mobileye, Habana Labs, and Mellanox (acquired by Nvidia for $7 billion).

Then

Israel developed world-class chip design capabilities despite lacking fabrication plants.

Now

Israeli engineers now lead development of Intel's Gaudi AI processors, Amazon's Graviton CPUs, and Nvidia's data center interconnects. Israel hosts 200 semiconductor companies employing 45,000 people.

Why this matters now

Israel's selection as the first bilateral Pax Silica partner reflects this deep integration. Fort Foundry One would add manufacturing to Israel's design capabilities, potentially creating a full-stack AI hardware ecosystem within the U.S.-allied bloc.

Sources

(18)
+12
The Times of Israel The Jerusalem Post Israel National News U.S. Department of State Rest of World The National Wikipedia Calcalist Tech Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Texas National Security Review Business Today Hudson Institute The Tribune Federal Register Morgan Lewis Mayer Brown Market Screener U.S. Department of State