This Extractivism Policy Brief 06/2026 shows:
• The EU’s lithium strategy in Latin America is strong in diplomacy but weak in investment.
• Across the lithium global value chain, Europe is losing influence in terms of establishing efficient policy frameworks and ownership structures.
• Sustainability and ESG standards, without parallel investment and risk-sharing, are perceived by lithium stakeholders in Latin America as compliance burdens rather than partnership incentives.
• The EU can only achieve its goal of strategic autonomy by transforming its role from that of a standard-setter to that of a cooperative investor in key ‘green’ industries. Against this background, cooperation with Latin American partners requires that European instruments be more closely aligned with their industrial development strategies.
The Author: Beatriz Calzada Olvera is a researcher and lecturer at the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam and an affiliated researcher at the United Nations University – Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT). Her work centers on development economics, innovation, and sustainability, focusing on critical raw materials, decarbonization, and industrial value chains. Her work centers on development economics, innovation, and sustainability, with a focus on critical raw materials, decarbonization, and industrial value chains.
Link to PDF: Download Extractivism Policy Brief 06/2026 (ENGLISH)
