By Andrea Shalal
SANTIAGO (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday underscored the United States’ interest in deepening ties with Chile, a key producer of critical minerals, as both allies work to address climate change and accelerate the energy transition.
Yellen kicked off a three-day visit to Chile with remarks at a green energy roundtable, where she hailed President Joe Biden’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act, which offers tax credits for EVs, solar panels and other renewable energy products made from metals extracted in the United States or countries with U.S. free trade deals – including Chile.
“The United States is focused on deepening ties with trusted partners like Chile and building resilient and reliable clean energy supply chains through investments at home in the U.S. and abroad,” Yellen said in remarks prepared for the event, co-hosted by Chilean Finance Minister Mario Marcel.
The visit is part of a broader push by the Biden administration to reduce its reliance on critical minerals from China and to build more diversified and resilient supply chains.
Treasury said continued collaboration between the two longstanding allies would benefit both countries, now benefiting from a new tax treaty seen as crucial for ensuring access for U.S. companies to lithium, a mineral essential for electric vehicle batteries. The treaty entered into force on Dec. 19.
Yellen said the IRA put the U.S. on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by the end of this decade, and offered businesses and investors the long-term clarity and certainty to make large-scale investments.
The U.S. Treasury chief lauded Marcel and Chile’s government for their leadership on the energy transition, including through rapid work to decarbonize the electricity sector, leading green bond issuance, and supporting progress in the domestic lithium industry.
“We look forward to further collaboration between our ministries and our countries more broadly, including our private sectors, to continue promoting investments that drive the energy transition forward,” Yellen said.
Yellen will meet privately with Marcel later Friday, as well as with Chilean President Gabriel Boric and Chile’s top central banker Rosanna Costa.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Editing by William Maclean)
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