US Aims to Boost Trade of AI-Related Goods With Allies

The State Department has launched a program designed to speed the trade of artificial intelligence (AI)-related materials with America’s allies.

The Pax Silica AI Assistance Project, announced Wednesday (Aug. 12), is designed to help the U.S. and its partners ship the goods that power artificial intelligence (AI) projects.

“Working with Congress, the Department seeks to commit up to $50 million in foreign assistance funding to strengthen global AI supply chain security by developing an AI supply chain credentialing and provenance platform that expedites the shipping of semiconductors, AI infrastructure, critical minerals, and related products in participating Pax partner countries and economies,” the announcement said. “We are putting our resources behind our vision and demonstrating that trusted partnership is backed by real investment.”

The project will start as a pilot by developing an “AI supply chain credentialing platform” with Panama’s ports and customs bodies, the announcement added. If that pilot goes well, the State Department would expand Pax Silica to other countries.

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg told Bloomberg News that Panama was chosen following his visit to the Central American country in May, and because of that nation’s interest in the program.

Bloomberg noted Panama is a critical global shipping route, with about 3% of all global maritime trade traveling along its canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The news comes a little more than a week after the White House said it was developing a new checkpoint for the most powerful AI models before they reach the market. This system would create voluntary federal cybersecurity assessments of advanced U.S. AI models.

President Donald Trump in June issued an executive order directing federal agencies to develop a classified benchmark for measuring models’ advanced cyber capabilities. The order also established a voluntary process letting developers give the government access to covered frontier models for up to 30 days before their wider release.

The new framework may be voluntary, “but banks and other regulated companies could soon treat it as something closer to a seal of inspection,” PYMNTS wrote.

“Banks, insurers and government contractors already ask technology providers to document security reviews, penetration tests and compliance certifications. A federal assessment could become another procurement requirement, particularly when a model will interact with customer information, payment systems or critical infrastructure.”

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