WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The United States and the Philippines have announced plans to establish a 4,000-acre industrial hub to secure inputs vital to American and global supply chains.
The site is located in the Luzon Economic Corridor of the Philippines. The site - the first of its kind - is being designated by the Philippines as an Economic Security Zone, a new model for AI-native investment acceleration hubs being developed under the Pax Silica Initiative.
Announcing this, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg said the Economic Security Zone is part of a broader strategy to surge production for inputs vital to U.S. supply chains.
'It is expected to serve as a purpose-built platform for allied manufacturing - an investment acceleration hub where the specific industrial activities are shaped by market demand, host-country comparative advantages, and the evolving needs of the allied network', the State Department said. Situated within the Luzon Economic Corridor, the Zone can leverage the Philippines' geographic centrality in the Indo-Pacific, its young and technically skilled workforce, and its deepening alliance with the United States.
The Economic Security Zone will be jointly governed by the two governments with long-term development plans.
The Economic Security Zone will operate by taking advantage of American expertise in institutions and legal regimes - internationally enforceable contracts, transparent regulatory standards, and expert dispute resolution - with enhanced access to the Philippines' workforce and talent, mineral endowments, energy resources, and strategic position at the crossroads of Indo-Pacific trade.
The Philippines holds significant reserves of nickel, copper, chromite, and cobalt-minerals increasingly vital to global supply chains.
The Luzon Economic Corridor is a high-impact investment in key sectors, including in transportation, energy, digital infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing. The LEC will transform Luzon into a more prosperous and interconnected region while delivering value to American investors.
The Luzon hub is intended to be the first Zone in a broader industrial network-a constellation of integrated manufacturing sites, logistics corridors, and shared financial instruments spanning partner nations across multiple continents.
'This interconnection can transform Pax Silica industrial policy from a collection of bilateral projects into a genuine system capable of competing with - and ultimately displacing - the concentrated supply chains on which the world currently depends,' the State Department said, in apparent reference to China.
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