The EU signed an agreement with Chile to obtain lithium and copper, the main raw materials for the manufacture of batteries and the automotive sector, in exchange for a commitment to strengthen the Chilean industry, as the Latin American country asked its European partners to strengthen value chains and create good jobs within its territory.
This agreement was presented in the context of the summit held in Brussels, where the Latin American and Caribbean states met for the first time in eight years with the members of the European Union, at the initiative of the Spanish presidency of the council.
Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services, signed this agreement in the presence of the presidents of the European Commission and Chile, while the country that extracts raw materials was represented by its foreign minister, Alberto van Klaveren Stork.
The meeting was held within the framework of initiatives to improve international cooperation in production in industries with sustainable raw materials. This series of initiatives is covered by the portal’s global investment program and the regulations contained in the Critical Raw Materials Act.
It also aims to develop a competitive and sustainable industry for the processing of raw materials and local added value in the mining sector.
Specifically, this new partnership focuses on areas such as the integration of sustainable raw material value chains, research and innovation, cooperation to take advantage of environmental, social, and governance standards, the deployment of infrastructure for project development, capacity building, and vocational education and training.
In this way, the EU will benefit from strengthening relations in terms of obtaining strategic and critical raw materials for the ecological transition that will help to diversify its sources to escape dependence on third parties such as China, while Chile receives European investments to give a boost to its economy.
