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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen seems to be at Chile’s Finance Minister Mario Marcel (not pictured) whereas they attend a press convention on the Finance Ministry constructing in Santiago, Chile, March 1, 2024. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado/File Picture
By Andrea Shalal
LA NEGRA, Chile (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Saturday predicted increasing demand for lithium – a core part wanted in batteries for electrical automobiles – would increase U.S. imports from Chile considerably in coming years.
Yellen toured U.S. lithium producer Albemarle (NYSE:) in northern Chile on Saturday as she wrapped up a go to to Chile that included conferences with President Gabriel Boric, Economic system Minister Mario Marcel and enterprise executives in Santiago.
She informed reporters after visiting the Albemarle website in La Negra, about half-hour southeast of Antofagasta (LON:), that rising demand for clear vitality may generate some $3 trillion in world funding alternatives by 2050.
Increasing U.S.-Chilean ties would profit each international locations, enhance vitality safety and assist obtain key local weather targets, she stated, noting {that a} core purpose of the U.S. Inflation Discount Act is to cut back overdependence on strategic items, together with vital minerals, from China.
Yellen stated the U.S. was eager to increase home manufacturing and discover different sources of vital minerals like lithium wanted to energy electrical automobiles.
“We wish to actually purchase minerals from our free commerce companions, particularly a rustic like Chile that’s producing with nice environmental sensitivity and has its personal robust local weather agenda,” Yellen stated.
She stated elevated purchases of lithium would probably enhance U.S. imports from Chile and enhance its share of Chilean exports. China is now Chile’s largest export market.
“I am unable to let you know numbers, however I think about that we are going to be increasing considerably our purchases from Chile,” she stated.
Yellen’s go to to Chile is a part of a broader push dubbed “friendshoring” to diversify U.S. provide chains by bolstering ties with key allies and companions corresponding to Chile.
Washington has a powerful curiosity in Chile because the world’s largest producer of and the second largest producer of lithium, each elements vital to the inexperienced transition.
EXPAND TRADE FLOWS
She informed reporters on Friday that the U.S. wished to increase its personal commerce flows with Chile, not dissuade it from buying and selling with China, its largest buying and selling associate, including, “It isn’t a contest.”
Yellen stated Chile’s lead manufacturing function in copper was vital, noting that demand is projected to double by 2035, because the metallic is required for every thing from electrical automobiles to offshore wind generators and transmission networks.
With 30% of world market share and the biggest lithium reserves, Chile can be the world’s second largest producer of lithium, which is predicted to see a tripling of demand by 2030 given its key function in vitality storage, corresponding to for EV batteries.
Chile’s 20-year-old free commerce settlement with the USA means vital minerals from Chile assist automobiles qualify for clear automobile tax credit beneath the Inflation Discount Act, which Yellen stated would increase industries in each international locations.
She stated Albemarle’s funding in Chile confirmed the good thing about expanded ties, noting the North Carolina-based firm had two websites in Chile that make use of 1,000 folks: a manufacturing website in Salar de Atacama and a conversion plant in La Negra.
There could be shifts within the medium to long run because the U.S. ramps up lithium manufacturing in the USA, Yellen stated, citing a deliberate Albemarle lithium mine resulting from open in North Carolina by 2030 and a separate mine and processing facility in Nevada that broke floor one 12 months in the past.
Yellen stated Chile was engaged on suggestions as a part of a brand new nationwide lithium technique, and stated its purpose was to make sure “they do not find yourself in a state of affairs the place anybody nation completely dominates the manufacturing.”
She stated she couldn’t touch upon the small print of the rising regulatory framework, however famous that corporations like Albemarle noticed “a really shiny future” forward in Chile.
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