US Export-Import Bank to Fund $7 Billion in Argentine Energy and Minerals Projects
By Ernest Scheyder and Lucinda Elliott
September 22 (Reuters) – The US Export-Import Bank is set to finance up to $7 billion for critical minerals and energy projects in Argentina. This funding aims to enhance economic ties between Washington and Buenos Aires, as part of an initiative that will be revealed during the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.
Under the leadership of President Javier Milei, who is aligned with former President Donald Trump, US-Argentina relations have strengthened, particularly in economic policy. This collaboration has been furthered by US support for Milei’s market-oriented reforms and a preferential trade and investment agreement announced in February, although it still awaits ratification from Argentina’s Congress.
The funding is designed to provide loans for Argentine companies to procure equipment from American manufacturers over the next two years. Argentina boasts significant reserves of lithium, shale oil, and other critical commodities, situating it in the heart of the “lithium triangle” alongside Chile and Bolivia—which holds the largest global supplies of this vital metal for electronics and electric vehicles.
Currently, major firms such as Rio Tinto, BHP, and Chevron are engaged in operations within Argentina. The Milei administration faces a 2027 presidential election and aims to attract foreign investment through its RIGI initiative, which promotes incentives for investments in energy, mining, and infrastructure.
Recently, Italy’s Eni and YPF, Argentina’s state-operated oil company, submitted a joint application under RIGI for a $51 billion liquefied natural gas project.
By 2036, Argentina’s Mining Minister Luis Lucero projects that the country could export 580,000 metric tons of lithium and 1.64 million metric tons of copper annually—five times the expected output by 2025.
(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder and Lucinda Elliott; Additional reporting by Nicolás Misculin in Buenos Aires; Editing by Brad Haynes and Christopher Cushing)
