{
  "title": "\"Critical Minerals & Energy: Powering Economic Development\" - Keynote Speech by IMF Deputy Managing Director Nigel Clarke",
  "publication": "IMF News, March 13, 2026",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2026/03/12/critical-minerals-energy-powering-economic-development-dmd-nigel-clark",
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  "summary": "Critical Minerals & Energy: Powering Economic Development - Keynote Speech by IMF Deputy Managing Director Nigel Clarke at the Inter-America Development Bank Annual Meetings in Paraguay",
  "publishDate": "2026-03-13",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Overview",
      "content": "- Event: Keynote Speech by Nigel Clarke at the Inter-America Development Bank Annual Meetings in Paraguay.\n- Date: March 13, 2026.\n- Core message: Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) possess strategic energy and critical minerals assets that can power economic development if complemented by resilience, investment, and trusted partnerships."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Key facts and statistics",
      "content": "- Renewables account for about 69 percent of electricity generation in Latin America and the Caribbean.\n- Oil production in the region: about 9.7 million barrels per day of oil production in 2024.\n- Chile, Peru, and Mexico account for about 37 percent of global copper mine production.\n- The broader lithium triangle—Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile—holds about half of global lithium resources.\n- Across various critical minerals markets, the top three refining countries account, on average, for 86 percent of processing capacity.\n- Chile developed LNG import capacity with Quintero (operating since 2009) and Mejillones (since 2010).\n- The EU–Mercosur agreement would bring together a market of 720 million people, covering nearly 21 percent of the world economy.\n- Economic modeling by the European Commission suggests the EU–Mercosur agreement could help Mercosur exports to the European Union grow by almost 17 percent."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Major themes and findings",
      "content": "- Global landscape change\n  - Two-decade trend: global production and supply chains have become more concentrated, raising chokepoint risks in less substitutable goods.\n  - Recent shocks (pandemic, wars, conflict in the Middle East) demonstrate that disruptions in concentrated sectors quickly affect inflation, output, investment, and confidence.\n  - Geoeconomic fragmentation is altering trade and investment patterns in strategic sectors, including energy and critical mineral supply chains.\n- Opportunity for LAC\n  - LAC can reduce domestic vulnerabilities and become a trusted supplier abroad, especially for processed materials rather than only raw inputs.\n  - Capturing more value domestically can translate into faster productivity growth, better jobs, and stronger export earnings.\n- Resilience through diversification\n  - IMF economic modeling suggests targeted diversification can improve resilience while limiting efficiency losses, particularly in concentrated, upstream, and hard-to-replace sectors.\n  - Chile’s LNG import capacity (Quintero, Mejillones) is presented as a practical diversification example that strengthened energy reliability.\n  - Closed markets increase concentration risk; integrated and competitive supply chains reduce vulnerability and build credibility as a reliable supplier.\n- Regional and global integration\n  - Deeper regional integration can lower trade costs, reduce frictions, and support regional value chains (e.g., mining in one country, smelting/refining in another, manufacturing in a third).\n  - Integration with the rest of the world through deep and comprehensive trade agreements enhances predictability and sourcing options for firms."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Policy recommendations and priorities",
      "content": "- Strengthen value chain resilience through diversification, not protectionism\n  - Pursue targeted diversification in highly concentrated, upstream sectors.\n  - Avoid closed markets that increase concentration risk.\n  - Promote integrated and competitive supply chains to reduce vulnerability to shocks.\n- Enhance regional integration and reduce trade frictions\n  - Close gaps in transport and customs infrastructure.\n  - Reduce non-tariff barriers.\n  - Strengthen trade policy coordination within the region to support cross-border value chains.\n- Create an enabling environment for investment\n  - Deliver macroeconomic stability: low and stable inflation, sustainable public finances.\n  - Ensure predictable tax systems and transparent regulations.\n  - Build strong, credible institutions to reduce policy uncertainty and attract long-term private investment.\n  - Recognize government and private sector roles as complements: governments provide the policy environment; the private sector supplies capital, technology, and execution.\n- Leverage trade agreements\n  - Use deep and comprehensive trade agreements (example: EU–Mercosur) to expand markets, increase predictability, and encourage higher value-added exports."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Expected economic outcomes if recommendations are implemented",
      "content": "- Fewer costly disruptions and more stable growth through more resilient supply chains.\n- Movement up the value chain leading to better jobs, higher standards of living, and long-term prosperity.\n\nSource: Keynote Speech by IMF Deputy Managing Director Nigel Clarke, March 13, 2026.\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- Nigel Clarke\n- PRESS CENTER\n- https://www.imf.org/en/home\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2026/03/12/critical-minerals-energy-powering-economic-development-dmd-nigel-clark"
    }
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    "Published: March 13, 2026",
    "Event: Keynote Speech by Nigel Clarke at the Inter-America Development Bank Annual Meetings in Paraguay.",
    "Date: March 13, 2026.",
    "Core message: Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) possess strategic energy and critical minerals assets that can power economic development if complemented by resilience, investment, and trusted partnerships.",
    "Renewables account for about 69 percent of electricity generation in Latin America and the Caribbean.",
    "Oil production in the region: about 9.7 million barrels per day of oil production in 2024.",
    "Chile, Peru, and Mexico account for about 37 percent of global copper mine production.",
    "The broader lithium triangle—Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile—holds about half of global lithium resources.",
    "Across various critical minerals markets, the top three refining countries account, on average, for 86 percent of processing capacity.",
    "Chile developed LNG import capacity with Quintero (operating since 2009) and Mejillones (since 2010).",
    "The EU–Mercosur agreement would bring together a market of 720 million people, covering nearly 21 percent of the world economy.",
    "Economic modeling by the European Commission suggests the EU–Mercosur agreement could help Mercosur exports to the European Union grow by almost 17 percent.",
    "Global landscape change",
    "Opportunity for LAC",
    "Resilience through diversification",
    "Regional and global integration",
    "Strengthen value chain resilience through diversification, not protectionism",
    "Enhance regional integration and reduce trade frictions",
    "Create an enabling environment for investment",
    "Leverage trade agreements",
    "Fewer costly disruptions and more stable growth through more resilient supply chains.",
    "Movement up the value chain leading to better jobs, higher standards of living, and long-term prosperity.",
    "[Nigel Clarke](https://www.imf.org/en/about/senior-officials/bios/nigel-clarke)",
    "[PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)",
    "[https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)"
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