Latin America is accelerating deals to build regional supply chains for critical minerals, according to the head of the Inter-American Development Bank, echoing President Donald Trump’s strategic push to mine and process closer to home.
Ilan Goldfajn, the IDB’s president, said governments across the region were seeking to increase the value added to their lithium, copper and other key minerals rather than exporting raw material for processing in Asia. That came, he said, as Washington signalled a clear preference for sourcing and refining within the hemisphere.
“We are hearing from countries from left to right, independent of the political inclination, that . . . this is the moment for them to increase the value added to their critical minerals,” Goldfajn told the Financial Times. “On the other side, I see the US wanting also to have the whole supply chain here in the region.”