The U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) is preparing to deploy $100 billion to secure supply chains for critical minerals, nuclear energy, and liquefied natural gas across the United States and its allies, the bank’s chair, John Jovanovic, told the Financial Times.
It is one of the most aggressive U.S. financing moves yet in the worldwide competition for strategic resources that underpin both energy security and advanced manufacturing.
Jovanovic said the first wave of projects will land in Egypt, Pakistan, and Europe. He warned that Western economies had become overly dependent on a limited pool of suppliers for essential materials, describing the current situation as “no longer fair”. Stable access to these resources, he said, is central to the industrial and technological ambitions Washington and its partners are pursuing.
“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,” he said.
Congress had authorized $135 billion for EXIM to deploy, leaving $100 billion still available. According to Jovanovic, the bank’s early deals include a credit insurance guarantee for $4 billion worth of natural gas being delivered to Egypt by Hartree Partners and a $1.25 billion loan for Barrick Mining’s Reko Diq project in Pakistan — one of the world’s most significant undeveloped copper and gold deposits.
EXIM did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular working hours. But the bank’s strategy aligns closely with President Donald Trump’s energy-dominance agenda. Since taking office, Trump has prioritized expanded domestic energy output, faster project approvals, and the removal of environmental and regulatory constraints — while also backing U.S. companies pursuing strategic resources abroad.
Why Washington Is Rushing to Diversify: The Rare Earth Shock
The U.S. acceleration into critical minerals did not begin with EXIM’s new plan. It traces back to the trade tensions with China, particularly the rare earth episode that reshaped Washington’s thinking.
AS the U.S.–China tariff war intensified, Beijing moved to restrict exports of rare earth elements — a group of 17 minerals essential for military equipment, electric vehicles, semiconductors, missiles, and advanced electronics. China controls the vast majority of global rare earth processing capacity and accounts for more than 80 percent of the supply, giving it unparalleled leverage.
Chinese state media openly described rare earths as a “powerful countermeasure” if negotiations soured, a message widely interpreted as a warning that these minerals could be withdrawn as part of the bargaining toolkit. The threat was never formally executed due to a compromise reached by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump last month, but it landed with full force in Washington. The Pentagon, the White House, and major industries saw it as a clear demonstration of how vulnerable the U.S. had become.
That moment triggered a sweeping effort to diversify supply chains. The U.S. began backing mining and processing projects in Australia, Canada, Africa, and parts of Latin America; supporting domestic processing initiatives; and reclassifying several minerals as vital to national security. It also expanded cooperation with Japan and the European Union around non-Chinese sources of lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements.
The EXIM initiative is now one of the strongest financial arms of that diversification mission.
The countries chosen for EXIM’s first tranche reflect regions Washington considers both strategic and urgent.
Egypt remains a major LNG importer, and the $4 billion Hartree-backed supply guarantee is expected to stabilize its energy balance at a time of rising domestic shortages. Pakistan’s Reko Diq mine is viewed as a valuable asset in reducing global reliance on dominant suppliers of copper — a metal expected to face huge demand pressure due to electrification and battery technologies. Europe, reshaping its energy landscape after recent supply disruptions, is also a priority partner in the broader mineral diversification push.
A New Phase in U.S. Strategy
The EXIM programme, with $100 billion still available for deployment, is set to influence investment flows for years. Washington is now leaning heavily on state-backed financing to reshape the global supply chain map — ensuring that minerals, nuclear technology inputs, and LNG remain accessible to U.S. industries and allied economies.
By moving aggressively, the U.S. aims to avoid any repeat of the rare earth scare, where a single country’s dominance threatened to upend entire sectors. The message embedded in this new wave of financing is that securing critical resources is central to America’s industrial strategy and geopolitical posture.
