US EXIM to invest $100B on critical minerals, energy, says chair

[Ben Graham]

The US Export-Import Bank (EXIM) will invest $100 billion in support of the Trump administration’s strategy of achieving global energy dominance, the export credit agency said.

In an interview with the Financial Times, newly appointed chair John Jovanovic said the move aims to address the West’s over-reliance on supplies from China and Russia, which he considers to be unfair. “We can’t do anything else that we’re trying to do without these underlying critical raw material supply chains being secure, stable and functioning,” he said.

The first tranche of investments, according to Jovanovic, will be in Egypt, Pakistan and Europe. These include $4 billion of natural gas being delivered to Egypt by New York-based commodities group Hartree Partners, and a $1.25 billion loan for the giant Reko Diq copper mine being developed by Barrick Mining (TSX: ABX, NYSE: B) in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province.

However, the EXIM chair told FT that the bank is finalizing several other critical minerals deals that are  “orders of magnitude larger” than the Reko Diq loan. While he did not provide further details, Jovanovic said EXIM is “ready” to be part of various critical minerals pacts that the US has with its allies such as Australia.

To date, it has deployed $35 billion of the $135 billion authorized by the US Congress, he noted.

On top of critical minerals, the bank is also placing a heavier investment emphasis on energy security. Jovanovic told FT that it was “actively in discussions” about several nuclear projects in southeast Europe, where US companies such as Westinghouse were looking to invest. Last year it supported $1.6 n in green energy projects, an increase of 74% compared with 2023, he noted.

Also of significance is LNG, for which EXIM has received requests for US support from Europe, Africa and Asia, and “a series of multibillion-dollar LNG supply deals” could be announced soon, according to Jovanovic.