Trade and investment opportunities for Western Australian companies are poised to open up with a WA trade office set to be established in Austin, Texas.
The Western Australian government last Friday (24 March) announced the move, along with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA (CCIWA), which they say will bolster investment opportunities between the mining state and resources endowed Texas region.
CCIWA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chris Rodwell says establishing a trade office in this part of the US is a “big win for WA businesses and will help us build a bigger, more competitive and diverse economy”.
The US is Australia’s largest source of foreign direct investment, with $185 billion in 2021, ahead of Canada, which is the fourth largest source, contributing $58 billion in 2021, the CCIWA says. In 2022, the US was Western Australia’s sixth largest trading partner, with total trade worth about $8.7 billion.
In February 2021, the US government awarded ASX-listed Lyans Rare Earths Corporation (ASX:LYC) tens of millions of dollars to ramp up its REE operations in Texas, as the US and Australia push back against the global dominance of China in the critical minerals sector.
The US Department of Defense announced at the time that Lyans, which is the largest REE mining and processing company outside of China, would receive more than $30 million to establish light REE separation capacity at a facility in Hondo, Texas. In the year prior, Lynas also received millions in US government funding to establish its proposed heavy rare earth elements facility in same location.
Then in June 2022, Lynas announced that the US government had agreed to fully fund Lynas’ plans to build a rare earths refinery in the southern states of the US and signed a ‘follow-on contract’ for about US$120 million with the Defense Department. The refinery will process ore that Lynas mines at Mt Weld in Western Australia, but could process ore mined by other companies.
Lynas joined a raft of other ASX-listed companies in the natural resources space to have a presence in Texas, such as global mining giant BHP (ASX:BHP), which has a base in Houston.
CCIWA’s Rodwell says WA’s move to Texas is confirmation of this trade presence in the Americas, and levers off WA’s strong relationships in the resources sector, while opening new horizons across sectors such as advanced manufacturing, defence, renewables, life sciences, digital, and the space industry.
“While many WA companies have long established links into the US and vice versa, there is an opportunity for a new surge of activity that responds to changed geopolitics and other meta trends.
It should also help provide critical intelligence on how economies across the North America are developing, ensuring we are well positioned from a regulatory perspective to secure strong flows of capital. This is especially important given the major shifts occurring across the global economy in areas such as decarbonisation and artificial intelligence.”
“They say ‘everything is bigger in Texas’ and we are confident that establishing our Americas hub in Austin will lead to bigger and better investment and trade opportunities for Western Australia”
Addressing the move, WA Premier Mark McGowan says: “They say ‘everything is bigger in Texas’ and we are confident that establishing our Americas hub in Austin will lead to bigger and better investment and trade opportunities for Western Australia.
The new hub will tap into this significant potential to grow our relationship across a range of sectors, and explore opportunities in other markets across the region, outside of the US.”
Opening a trade office in Austin was a recommendation CCIWA made in its 2023-24 pre-budget submission to the Western Australian government.
This will be WA’s first trade office in the Americas, with 5 bases already in Southeast Asia, China, India-Gulf, Northeast Asia, and the UK/Europe.
An Investment and Trade Commissioner recruited from WA will lead the hub, with support from 5 locally engaged staff.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Lynas Rare Earths Ltd
