Securitizing Investment, Destabilizing Supply: Lessons from Canada’s Scrutiny of Chinese Capital in Argentina’s Lithium Sector

• This Policy Brief examines how Canada’s tighter foreign investment rules (Investment Canada Act reforms) are reshaping the lithium value chain spanning Canada, China, and Argentina. • It shows a shift from a liberal mining regime to a security-driven approach influenced by geopolitics. • There are unintended effects in this process: reduced access to capital for Canadian juniors, corporate relocations, and adaptive strategies by Chinese investors (for example, using intermediaries, shifting to Africa). • Securitization redistributes rather than reduces risk, with added uncertainty from potential Chinese lithium export controls and broader global competition