Earl Anthony Wayne, Rebecca Bill Chavez, and Eduardo Castellet Nogués
The United States has a narrow window to reshape its economic future and its role in the Americas if it moves decisively. A network of special economic zones could secure critical minerals supply chains, compete with China, and catalyze growth across the Western Hemisphere. Designed with enforceable standards, it would demonstrate that the Americas can deliver long-term growth and security.
Critical minerals are at the heart of technological dynamism and national security, powering everything from chips to grid-scale storage to defense platforms. Yet, most mines and refineries are concentrated in a few countries, with China being predominant across midstream processes. China processes more than 90 percent of the world’s battery-grade manganese sulfate, 70 percent of cobalt, nearly 60 percent of lithium, and 40 percent of copper, leaving manufacturers and US companies vulnerable to geopolitical shocks.
The Western Hemisphere offers a credible alternative. It holds one of the world’s richest concentrations of critical minerals, but lacks a common framework to knit these strengths together. The lithium triangle of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile contains about half of the known global resources.
Latin America also dominates in copper production, with Chile producing 23 percent, Peru 12 percent, and Mexico nearly 4 percent of global output. Between 2022 and 2030, copper production is projected to rise by 30 percent in Peru and 15 percent in Chile. Brazil holds between 19 percent and 23 percent of global rare earth reserves, though its infrastructure lags behind some neighbors. Mexico is also the world’s sixth-largest producer of zinc, another critical mineral.
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