It is reported that the United States is in talks with Venezuela regarding the transportation of the second batch of aluminum shipments.
November 4, 2026
According to sources familiar with the matter, Venezuela is negotiating with the US trading company Mercuria Energy Group and the private mining investment firm Heeney Capital for the export of the second batch of aluminum to the United States. The shipment is expected to be dispatched by the end of the year, and the scale and terms may be similar to the first batch of 15,000 tons that arrived in New Orleans at the end of September.
The two sides have also separately negotiated with the Venezuelan government to seek the operation of the state-owned aluminum smelting plant Venalum.
This trade recovery is part of the restoration of commercial relations between the United States and Venezuela since the US arrested the former Venezuelan president Maduro in January this year. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Oliver Blanco met with US Secretary of State Rubio and Treasury Secretary Bentsen in Washington on Monday.
Aluminum is listed as a key mineral by the United States. This transaction also reflects that US enterprises are expanding their participation in Venezuela's mining and metal industry, while highlighting the contradictions of Trump's metal trade policy: on the one hand, it promotes the import of Venezuelan aluminum, while on the other hand, it protects American domestic producers from supply shocks from other sources through high tariffs.
