The rivalry between the United States and China is no longer confined to tariffs and trade balances. It is also being fought over access to semiconductors, batteries, critical minerals, and energy sources that can sustain entire productive sectors, leading governments and companies to rethink their supply chains and investment decisions. That new landscape was the common thread of the twenty-first Annual Seminar of the Boletín Informativo Techint.
Opening the day, Javier Martínez Álvarez, Vice President of the Techint Group and Director of the Boletín, noted that the international order is undergoing a profound reconfiguration, one in which “energy security and geopolitics are once again prevailing over economic efficiency and climate goals.” He highlighted the possibilities opening up for a country with food, energy and mineral resources, but also with an industrial track record on which to build. “Our country has an industrial heritage that sets it apart from other countries rich in natural resources. It is a fabric that goes beyond factories: it is human capital, schools, universities and communities,” he said.
A dispute over strategic chains
Leland Miller, a member of the US-China Economic & Security Review Commission and co-founder and CEO of China Beige Book, delivered the keynote presentation and then spoke with Gerardo della Paolera, Executive Director of the Fundación Bunge y Born. Miller did not propose a generalized decoupling; in his view, the answer lies in identifying the truly strategic chains and building a network of trusted suppliers. That reorganization opens up new spaces in the early and intermediate segments of value chains. “Argentina can see this as a problem, but also as an opportunity to be part of the solution,” he said.
What does Argentina need to build?
Ricardo Hausmann, founder and director of the Growth Lab at Harvard University, addressed what Argentina needs to build to seize those opportunities. Technology, he explained, is not solely ideas that can be copied, but know-how: human capabilities distributed among many people that require time and coordination. He proposed starting from the concrete problems of the productive system, on challenges related to lithium, Vaca Muerta, food, artificial intelligence and power grids. “An alliance between companies, universities and research centers can solve the chicken-and-egg problem,” he said.
The day closed with the panel “Argentina and its natural resources: an opportunity for integrated development?”, made up of economists Marcos Buscaglia, Andrés López and Fernando Navajas, who discussed the complementary assets required to turn resource abundance into sustained development: sound institutions, human capital, research, infrastructure and business and state capabilities.
This edition also coincided with the launch of the redesigned Boletín Informativo Techint website, which debuts a new platform and visual identity. The publication, dedicated to analyzing the economy, industry, and development, will publish quarterly articles by specialists in economics, politics, and society. It is one of the initiatives through which the Techint Group contributes to public debate in the countries where it operates.
Read the full coverage on the Boletín Informativo Techint website.
