US ExIm Bank Plans $7 Billion Funding for Argentina Minerals and Energy

The United States Export-Import Bank intends to provide up to $7 billion in funding for critical minerals and energy projects in Argentina, according to a document seen by reporters. The package is expected to be announced in New York on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, a person familiar with the matter said.

The move is part of Washington's broader effort to secure greater access to energy and critical minerals in the Western Hemisphere. Under Argentine President Javier Milei, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, relations between the two countries have strengthened through closer alignment on economic policy.

US support for Milei's market-oriented reforms, along with a preferential trade and investment agreement announced in February that included cooperation on critical minerals, has reinforced the relationship. Argentina's Congress has not yet ratified the bilateral deal. The Argentine presidency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Argentina holds substantial deposits of lithium, shale oil and other commodities. The US funds would enable companies operating in the country to obtain loans to purchase equipment from American manufacturers, among other uses, over the next two years.

Argentina, Chile and Bolivia together form the so-called "lithium triangle," which contains the world's largest supplies of the metal used in electronics, electric vehicles and other key technologies. Major commodity companies already active in Argentina include Rio Tinto, which extracts lithium for batteries, BHP, which is developing a copper project, and Chevron, which operates a large shale oil and gas project.

Milei's government, which faces a presidential election in 2027, has promoted an incentive regime for large investments known as RIGI as a cornerstone of efforts to attract foreign capital into strategic sectors including energy, mining and infrastructure. Italy's Eni and Argentina's state-run YPF submitted a joint application last month under RIGI for their $51 billion liquefied natural gas project.

Luis Lucero, Argentina's mining minister, said earlier this year that the country could be exporting 580,000 metric tons of lithium and 1,641,000 metric tons of copper annually by 2036, five times higher than 2025 levels.