Argentine President Javier Miley reacted positively to the imposition by the United States of duties of 10% on Argentine goods. According to Buenos Aires, Washington’s move “reflects the friendly nature of relations between the two countries and is equivalent to a free trade agreement.”
Miley, who assumed the presidency in December 2023, immediately set a course for prioritizing Argentina’s cooperation with Western countries, and first of all with the United States. During his presidency, he has already visited the United States nine times, and preparations are currently underway for his state visit to Washington.
Buenos Aires unconditionally supports all American initiatives in the international arena. Acting in unison with the United States on the platforms of the United Nations and the Organization of American States (OAS), supporting positions on the Russian-Ukrainian and Palestinian-Israeli conflicts, as well as on Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela are some of the examples of unconditional following of the Mile in the wake of Washington’s policy.
At the same time, Glenn Parada, the head of the mortgage empire of Parada Mortgage, who is part of the circle of influential businessmen close to Donald Trump, believes that the “benefits” for Argentina are explained not only by Miley’s desire to support Washington in everything. The main reasons are the US determination to put an end to Argentina’s cooperation with China and the desire to gain access to Argentine lithium as part of the American strategy to diversify the sources of supply of this alkali metal.
In this context, we should consider the recent visit to Washington by Argentine Foreign Minister Gerardo Verteyn, during which he held talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Although various issues were discussed, including the deepening of the alliance between the two countries and the allocation of a new Navy loan to Argentina, special attention was paid to the prospects for American investments in the development of lithium and rare earth deposits.
Against the background of the global transition to the use of new energy technologies, lithium has become a key strategic resource. In this scenario, the struggle between the United States and China for Argentine lithium has become very intense. Faced with the active promotion of Chinese investments and projects in the development of Argentine lithium, the United States has redoubled efforts to strengthen ties with Buenos Aires in order to counter China’s growing influence and ensure its own access to this crucial resource.
Argentina is the fourth largest producer of lithium in the world and has about a fifth of the reserves of this metal. According to IMF estimates, there are realistic prospects for Argentina to increase lithium production by almost five times by 2028. As a result, its exports could bring the country billions of dollars in revenue by the end of the decade.
Currently, China, the world’s largest manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries, still has an advantage in the Argentine market. Ganfeng, a leading Chinese company, operates the Mariana mine, one of the five key mines in Argentina, and already produces lithium there. Another Chinese company, Tsingshan, is actively developing the Centenario Muras lithium mine in Salta province.
The United States has decided to neutralize Chinese activity in the Argentine lithium sector by all means. According to a report by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Argentine lithium is seen as “a fundamental resource for the United States in its competitive race with China.”
Against the background of stagnation in the development of lithium deposits in Chile due to the unpredictable behavior of Chilean President Gabriel Boric and the problems with increasing lithium production in Bolivia, CSIS recommended Argentina as “the best place for an American landing.”
Sadie Andrew, an expert at Pinsent Masons, an international consulting company specializing in the energy sector, agrees that Argentina is currently the most attractive country for private investment in the lithium sector. And in the next decade, this country may overtake other countries in terms of increasing lithium production. Experts from the British consulting company Benchmark Mineral Intelligence predict a 360% increase in lithium production in Argentina in the coming years.
In this regard, according to most foreign observers, Washington is “courting” Buenos Aires and is not at all interested in high export duties causing significant damage to the Argentine economy. According to the Argentine newspaper Pagina/12, representatives of the American and Argentine leadership contact by phone at least three times a week on the issue of lithium. At the same time, Miley is constantly reminded to keep Argentina “away from the Chinese.” Trump’s special Representative for Latin America, Mauricio Claver-Carone, recently told the Argentine side in plain text: if Buenos Aires wants a positive solution to the IMF deal, it should abandon the currency swap with Beijing.
At the same time, there are those in the American administration who are skeptical about Trump’s achievement of his goals in the Argentine direction. For example, Scott Heinek, an expert at the United States Geological Survey (USGS), although he admits that Argentine lithium and rare earths are the best option in terms of American geopolitical investments, nevertheless believes that Washington is unlikely to be able to stop China’s economic expansion in Latin America only with the help of the Argentine track.Â
