Jacob Helberg, undersecretary of state for economic affairs, said addressing the memory shortage is a key priority to advance through the Pax Silica initiative. The State Department unveiled the coalition in December to secure supply chains involving semiconductors, artificial intelligence and critical minerals while reducing dependence on China.
Fourteen countries including India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and the Philippines have joined the coalition, with Norway set to join this week, Helberg told Nikkei Asia on the sidelines of the 2026 Milken Institute Global Conference.
The global memory chip supply shortage continues to worsen as the industry struggles to keep pace with demand boosted by artificial intelligence, affecting tech companies from AI chipmakers to Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).
The Trump administration plans to address the memory chip crunch by working with the supply chain coalition, particularly with Asian allies such as South Korea.
Following the report, traders were watching memory stocks including Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU), Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK), Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) and Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX).
U.S. officials are scheduled to visit the Philippines for a Pax Silica project after a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
source https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/trump-administration-partners-with-asian-allies-to-combat-chip-shortage-4660212
