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The
U.S. Export-Import Bank, a federal agency, would make up to $7
billion available through 2027 for projects in Argentina, the
State Department said, helping companies in the country obtain
loans to buy American equipment and hire U.S. firms to expand
the country’s railways, pipelines, ports and power networks.
The deal advances U.S. President Donald Trump’s effort to reduce
reliance on China’s mineral processing industry, as well as
bolstering his ally President Javier Milei, who is betting on
oil, gas and mineral exports to transform Argentina’s economy
and ease the chronic dollar shortages that have fueled repeated
economic crises.
“Working together, the United States and Argentina seek to
continue to build on our robust relationship through increased
U.S. investment, close security cooperation and aligned values,"
the State Department said in a statement.
The relationship has already paid dividends for Milei's
Argentina: Last year, Washington backed a $20 billion
International Monetary Fund bailout for Argentina and extended a
separate $20 billion currency-swap line to stabilize the
Argentine peso. The countries also signed a free trade pact
earlier this year.
On the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, U.S.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Argentine
Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said on Wednesday that the
agreement aims to connect Argentina’s lithium- and copper-rich
northwest and sprawling Vaca Muerta shale fields to the
country’s ports, making it easier to ship minerals, oil and gas
to the U.S. and other markets.
Inadequate transport and energy infrastructure has long hampered
development of Argentina’s remote deposits. The country's
history of protectionist trade policies, currency controls and
sovereign debt defaults has also discouraged foreign investment.
Milei, a fierce believer in free markets, has moved to open
Argentina's economy, scrapping import restrictions and offering
tax breaks to attract investors. That has led to a surge in
cheap imports, squeezing labor-intensive industries like
manufacturing and retail already struggling under Milei's
spending cuts and tight monetary policy. Booming oil production
and mining exports have become an economic lifeline.
The country has vast deposits of lithium and copper, minerals
that are necessary for the global shift toward green energy.
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