US Ex-Im Bank to fund up to $7 billion in Argentina minerals, energy projects, document shows

Sept 22 (Reuters) – A document reviewed by Reuters shows the U.S. Export-Import Bank intends to provide as much as $7 billion for critical minerals and energy ventures in Argentina, a move aimed at deepening economic cooperation between Washington and Buenos Aires.

A person with knowledge of the matter said the financing forms part of a broader package set for announcement in New York on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, as Washington pursues greater access to energy and critical minerals in the Western Hemisphere.

Relations between Washington and Buenos Aires have grown closer under Argentine President Javier Milei, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, with the two sides increasingly aligning on economic policy.

U.S. support for Milei’s market-oriented reforms has reinforced the relationship, along with a preferential trade and investment agreement unveiled in February that covered critical minerals cooperation. The bilateral accord still awaits ratification by Argentina’s Congress.

Argentina’s presidency did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Argentina holds sizable deposits of lithium, shale oil and other commodities. Over the next two years, the U.S. funds are intended to let companies operating in the South American nation obtain loans for purchasing equipment from American manufacturers, among other purposes.

Together, Argentina, Chile and Bolivia make up the so-called “lithium triangle,” which holds the world’s largest supplies of the white metal used in electronics, electric vehicles and other critical technologies.

Large commodity firms already active in Argentina include Rio Tinto, which produces lithium for batteries, BHP, which is advancing a copper project, and Chevron, which operates a major shale oil and gas development.

Milei’s administration, which faces a presidential election in 2027, has championed an incentives framework for large investments known as RIGI, positioning it as central to attracting foreign capital into strategic areas such as energy, mining and infrastructure.

Last month, Italy’s Eni and Argentina’s state-run YPF filed a joint RIGI application for their $51 billion liquefied natural gas project.

Argentina’s mining minister, Luis Lucero, told Reuters earlier this year that the country could export 580,000 metric tons of lithium and 1,641,000 metric tons of copper per year by 2036, a level five times above 2025 volumes.