By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The US Export-Import Bank will deploy $100 billion to shore up supply chains for critical minerals, nuclear energy and natural gas as part of a broader effort to reduce Western dependence on unreliable sources, according to the institution’s chair.
John Jovanovic, in an interview with the Financial Times published on Sunday, outlined the initial deals under the plan, including a $1.25 billion loan for Barrick Mining’s Reko Diq mine in Pakistan and a credit insurance guarantee for $4 billion of natural gas deliveries to Egypt by New York-based commodities trader Hartree Partners.
The first tranche of transactions will also encompass projects in Europe, Jovanovic told the newspaper. He emphasized that the West has become overly reliant on supplies that “are no longer fair.” “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,” Jovanovic was quoted as saying. The bank has $100 billion remaining from the $135 billion authorized by Congress, Jovanovic said.
The initiative aligns with President Donald Trump’s energy-dominance agenda, which prioritizes boosting US output and easing regulations. Trump, who took office in January, campaigned on pledges to ramp up domestic energy production and has moved to roll back environmental and energy rules since then.
The Reko Diq project, one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits, represents a key bet on diversifying mineral supplies away from dominant producers. Barrick Mining, a unit of Canada’s Barrick Gold Corp., is developing the site in Pakistan’s Balochistan province amid efforts to stabilise global chains for metals essential to batteries, electronics and clean energy technologies.
The Egypt gas deal involves Hartree Partners, a firm active in global commodities trading, providing liquefied natural gas to support the country’s energy needs. Such guarantees from EXIM help mitigate risks for US exporters in volatile markets.
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