US Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg underscored the growing global push for secure and reliable supply chains during a May 18 visit to the site of the Philippines’ planned Economic Security Zone in New Clark City.
Speaking during the site inspection, Helberg said the initiative is expected to position the Philippines as a key strategic partner in building resilient supply chains for critical industries, particularly those powering the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence economy.
“When 90 percent of a critical input comes from one country, you do not have a supply chain. You have a hostage chain,” Helberg said, citing concerns over heavy dependence on single-country sources for rare earths, metals, semiconductors, and other critical industrial materials.
He noted that American companies are increasingly prioritizing “predictability, reliability, and certainty” alongside the speed and scale long associated with Asian manufacturing centers.
According to Helberg, the proposed Economic Security Zone in Clark represents a new model of US-Philippine economic cooperation that combines “the predictability and certainty of American law” with “the speed and scale of Asia.”
“Predictability, speed, and scale, in one place. That is the product,” he said.
Helberg also expressed gratitude to the Philippine government and private sector partners backing the project.
“I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our Filipino friends for their partnership on this bold effort,” he said. “Thank you to the firms who are considering to build here, and thank you to the Filipinos and Americans whose work will turn a sentence on a page into broken ground.”
