US, El Salvador sign trade agreement to boost critical minerals investment

Jan 29 (Reuters) – The United States and El Salvador signed an agreement on Thursday aimed at encouraging investment in the exploration and export of critical minerals, which U.S. President Donald Trump has described as essential to economic and national security.

The deal signed in Washington would allow U.S. companies to operate across the critical-minerals supply chain in El Salvador. It also requires the Central American country to provide energy, telecommunications and other infrastructure support on terms comparable to those offered to other investors.

El Salvador’s Congress in December 2024 passed a law backed by President Nayib Bukele to lift a ban on mining, despite opposition from environmental groups.

Bukele has highlighted the presence in El Salvador of minerals such as rhenium and silicon, recently added to an expanded U.S. list of critical minerals that guides Washington’s priorities for clean energy, defense and manufacturing.

The agreement also commits El Salvador to cooperating with U.S. sanctions and export controls and on defense-related trade.

The pact builds on a November framework under which El Salvador agreed to adopt U.S. standards for vehicle safety, emissions and pharmaceuticals, and eased restrictions on imports of U.S. goods, including cheeses and meats.

Bukele posted a photo from the signing ceremony, calling it “the first reciprocal trade agreement in the entire Western Hemisphere.”

El Salvador already has duty-free access for many goods under the CAFTA-DR agreement, which includes the United States, Central America and the Dominican Republic.

(Reporting by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Adriana Barrera; Writing by Sarah Morland and Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Tom Hogue)