In addition to supporting the Lobito Corridor, the US government’s International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is invested in a portfolio of African critical mineral projects aimed at delivering impactful development and contributing to US strategic goals of fostering expanded and diversified supply chains.
According to Abigail Hunter, the Executive Director of SAFE’s Center for Critical Minerals Strategy, mineral supply chain security and engagement with African countries is expected to remain a key focus, given that many investment instruments were established during Trump’s first administration.
The DFC was launched under the first Trump administration with an investment limit of $60 billion and a mandate to engage with the private sector, channelling investments into projects that support economic growth and enhance local living standards.
During his first term, Trump also granted the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM) its longest reauthorization in history and oversaw the creation of the China Transformation Export Program, which focuses on identifying and investing in promising projects that enhance US industrial competitiveness.
Hunter also highlighted the Trump administration’s role in establishing the Energy Governance Resource Initiative (ERGI) in partnership with Botswana, Peru, Australia, and Canada, seen as a precursor to the Minerals Security Partnership.
Announced in June 2022, the MSP is a collaboration of 14 countries and the European Union aimed at accelerating investment in global critical minerals supply chains
In addition Hunter pointed to the significance of the first Trump administration’s Executive Order 13953, “Executive Order on Addressing the Threat to the Domestic Supply Chain from Reliance on Critical Minerals from Foreign Adversaries,” which directed the State Department to reduce the vulnerability of the US to the disruption of critical mineral supply chains through cooperation and coordination with partners and allies, and to build resilient critical mineral supply chains.
“The initiatives alluded to here could be the same or similar to those multilateral ones taken up by the Biden administration,” she said.
Countering China
Regarding the risk that US support for the Lobito Corridor may be halted or scaled back under Trump, Hunter said that the project aligns strongly with the first Trump administration’s strategy to counter Chinese dominance in Africa’s mining industry. With the DFC’s $553 million in investment loans to the Lobito Corridor approved by its board in October, she remarked that unwinding these investments would be challenging as the loans are now ready for disbursement.
“The Lobito Corridor is essential for getting minerals to market, and we see strong alignment with the administration’s wider strategic goals in maintaining this course,” she said.
Read the full story: Experts consider US approach to Africa’s critical minerals under Trump
