US to Offer $7 Billion in Loans for Argentina's Energy and Mining Projects
The US will make up to $7 billion in loans available to Argentina through 2027 to support energy, mining and infrastructure projects, deepening ties with President Javier Milei.
The United States will set aside up to $7 billion in loans to support energy, mining and infrastructure projects in Argentina, the State Department said on Wednesday, in a move that strengthens ties with President Javier Milei and advances Washington's push to secure critical minerals closer to home.
The funding, to be provided by the Export-Import Bank through 2027, is intended to help Argentine companies obtain loans to purchase American equipment and hire US firms to expand the country's railways, pipelines, ports and power networks.
The agreement was announced on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York by US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno. It aims to connect Argentina's lithium- and copper-rich northwest and the sprawling Vaca Muerta shale fields to the country's ports, making it easier to ship minerals, oil and gas to the United States and other markets.
"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 deal is the latest step in President Donald Trump's effort to reduce reliance on China's mineral processing industry while bolstering Milei, who is betting on oil, gas and mineral exports to transform Argentina's economy and ease chronic dollar shortages that have fueled repeated economic crises.
Washington has already backed Argentina with a $20 billion International Monetary Fund bailout last year and extended a separate $20 billion currency-swap line to stabilize the peso. The two countries also signed a free trade pact earlier this year.
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 his spending cuts and tight monetary policy. Booming oil production and mining exports have become an economic lifeline.
Argentina holds vast deposits of lithium and copper, minerals essential to the global shift toward green energy.