Yellen Seeks US Boost From Lithium Triangle With Visit to Chile

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(Bloomberg) — US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen kicked off a two-day visit in Chile Friday, in an effort to strengthen ties with an ally rich in minerals critical to key industries of the future.

“Chile is a longtime friend of ours, we share the democratic values, we have a free trade agreement,” Yellen said in an interview in Sao Paulo before flying to Santiago. “We certainly see opportunities to partner when it comes to clean energy. And because they’re a free trade area, they have ready access to the United States.” 

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Yellen will see government officials including Finance Minister Mario Marcel and central bank President Rosanna Costa. She’ll also tour Albemarle Corp.’s lithium-processing facility at Antofagasta in the north of the country. Chile has the world’s largest reserves of lithium – a metal essential for making batteries that power electric vehicles — and is the No. 2 supplier after Australia.

That also makes it a vital partner for China, by far the top global EV producer, which last year bought about two-thirds of Chile’s total lithium exports. The Biden administration is backing domestic EV plants with massive subsidies, as it seeks to grab a bigger share of the industry — and also pushing to secure their supplies of key ingredients from countries other than China.

Such initiatives are becoming part of the mission for Yellen, who over the past year has effectively become her country’s chief economic diplomat. She’s championed the administration’s “friend-shoring” agenda, an effort to make US supply lines less dependent on China and less vulnerable to potential coercion. She traveled to India four times and also visited Indonesia, another resource-rich nation, and Vietnam.

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Market Turbulence

The EV boom has triggered a rollercoaster ride in the once-tiny market for lithium. Prices surged through late 2022, and by one measure they’ve slumped more than 80% since then. There’s been a slide in nickel and other key metals too, as a wave of new supply hits the market. For commodity producers like Chile, that’s making it difficult to invest in new mines.

Chile’s President Gabriel Boric wants the state to take a controlling stake in operations considered strategically significant, with the twin goals of making lithium production more sustainable and generating more money. 

Understanding how this reform would work in practice, and how it will affect US firms, is something Yellen will seek to do during the visit, a Treasury official said. The Chilean government is respecting existing contracts, which in the case of US-based Albemarle run until 2043.

Mining Minister Aurora Williams said this week that the government expects to lay out by end-March which new lithium areas will be made available under the new public-private partnership model. Contracts will then be finalized by end-June. Chile has been losing market share as output remains restricted to two operations on a single giant salt flat.. 

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As a free-trade partner with the US for more than two decades, Chile stands to benefit from President Joe Biden’s green stimulus program, potentially increasing demand for its lithium. Trade between the countries has grown around 9% a year since 2003.

‘Strategic Partner’

Yellen’s visit to Chile “reflects our character as a strategic partner,” Marcel said in a statement, citing  “the flow of investments between both countries” as well as talks on issues like the environment and the digital economy. 

The US has competition, though. All across the so-called lithium triangle of Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, which accounts for more than half of global resources, Chinese investors are making inroads – and helping the countries shift further down the electric-vehicle supply chain by leveraging their vast mineral wealth.

Read More: US Bid to Loosen China’s Grip on Key Metals for EVs Is Stalling

Chile and Argentina are keen to be part of American EV plans, but they also continue to woo Chinese investors who can bring funds for more value-added investments.

Still, expanding the range of buyers would likely be good for Chile, according to Yellen — especially in light of China’s recent economic woes, which have weighed on Chile’s exports. 

“They’re probably interested in diversifying their purchasers,” she said. “Just as we’re interested in diversifying suppliers.”

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