The European Commission intends to sign memoranda of understanding with Argentina and Chile to establish two partnerships on raw materials with these countries. The partnerships will aim to facilitate investments in sustainable and resilient value chains for raw materials.
Chile is the world’s second largest producer of lithium and Argentina the third. In the framework agreement it has negotiated with Santiago, the Commission has stipulated non-discriminatory access to Chilean raw materials (see EUROPE 13081/19). However, it wants to go even further with this partnership.
The EU hopes to sign both memoranda of understanding in the second or third quarter of this year. The Working Party on Competitiveness and Growth for the Council of the EU will start by examining the proposed memorandum of understanding with Argentina on Thursday 11 May. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)