The United States secures supplies of lithium and copper. New agreement with Chile

The United States and Chile have signed an agreement on critical minerals and rare earth metals. Chile is the world's largest producer of copper and the second largest producer of lithium, used in batteries.

According to commentators, the administration of US President Donald Trump is seeking to tighten cooperation with countries producing such raw materials in the context of global competition with China. The US has already signed similar agreements with Argentina, Paraguay and Ecuador.

The preliminary agreement with Chile concluded on Monday provides for cooperation in the promotion of investments and exchange of experience in the field of extraction of critical minerals and rare earth metals. The goal is to strengthen the supply chains of these raw materials, said the head of the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Francisco Perez Mackenna.

At the same time, both countries also signed security agreementon the fight against drug smuggling and cross-border organized crime.

In March, after ultraconservative President Jose Antonio Kast took power in Chile, his government issued a joint declaration with the United States on strengthening supply chains of critical minerals.

The change of power in Chile was another in a series of turns to the right in the politics of South American countries. Last year, the electoral victory of center-right candidate Rodrigo Paz ended almost 20 years of socialist domination in Bolivian politics, opening the way to repairing Bolivia's relations with the US.

Currently, the so-called The South American lithium triangle – the area where most of the known deposits of this metal are located – is controlled by right-wing governments. Apart from Bolivia and Chile, it is also located in Argentina, where right-wing president and Trump ally Javier Milei has been in power since December 2023. (PAP)

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