In recent decades, critical minerals have acquired strategic importance on the global stage, as the growing need for semiconductors and technological products has rapidly increased their demand. The main world powers, fully aware of their fundamental role in technology manufacturing and the energy transition, recognize the strategic value inherent in greater access to and control over mineral reserves, as well as the supply chains that support them. This has intensified the competition to extract and control these resources, with significant implications both at the geopolitical level and in the balance of power on a global scale.
In today’s complex geopolitical landscape, several countries have adopted legislative measures to regulate foreign investment, aimed at safeguarding their national interests and ensuring national security. These measures, known as foreign investment screen- ing mechanisms, are applied with special emphasis in vital sectors such as critical minerals. They include the evaluation of potential risks associated with an invest- ment, the implementation of prior review processes, the establishment of prerequi- sites for approval, and the implementation of monitoring and compliance protocols once the investment has been authorized. These actions reflect the countries’ growing concern about maintaining strategic control over sectors vital to their development and national security, amid global competition for resources and technology.