Argentina Seeks to Tax Lithium Boom to Avoid Resource Curse

Argentina is pushing to levy a new tax on lithium producers and make them hold back some production for national battery projects.

Provincial and federal officials want to tap the profits of lithium companies with an annual tax that would be put toward building infrastructure. They’re also proposing a quota of up to 20% of output to be kept for domestic battery projects.

Argentine leaders have been keen to avoid yet another resource curse in a region that has been unearthing raw materials for centuries while remaining relatively poor. Taxes and meddling in exports have held back Argentina’s other major ...