As the EU's demand for critical raw materials such as lithium is unmet, the EU is signing agreements with like-minded Latin American countries to bridge the gap.
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00:00Which Latin American countries is the EU looking to rely on for its critical raw materials?
00:11The war in Ukraine increased Europe's awareness of its dependence on Russian gas,
00:16forcing the EU to reconsider where it sources the raw materials needed for the energy transition.
00:22Although the EU's overall demand is not fully met, a few member states still produce critical raw materials.
00:29France produces 76% of hafnium used in the EU, while Belgium produces 59% of the arsenic,
00:39Finland produces 38% of nickel, and Spain produces 31% of strontium.
00:47Of the 34 critical raw materials on the EU's list, 25 are extracted in Latin America.
00:54While Brazil is the most important supplier of critical raw materials from Latin America to the EU,
01:0179% of the EU's supply of refined lithium originates from Chile.
01:07A trade agreement with Chile is set to come into force in February
01:11and will be the first to contain a chapter dedicated solely to energy and raw materials.
01:17In December, the EU and the South American trade bloc Mercosur also reached an agreement
01:22to lower and remove various export tariffs, as well as eliminate some export restrictions.