Doug Burgum says the United States has received its first strategic shipment of aluminum from Venezuela since relations between the two countries normalized, calling the development a step toward stronger supply chains and lower costs for American industries.
Speaking with John Roberts, Burgum said the shipment totaled 15,000 metric tons of aluminum and had arrived at the Gulf Coast.
“Looking at the ship that delivered, as you said, the first strategic shipment of aluminum here to the United States from Venezuela since the relationship has been normalized, 15,000 metric tons,” Burgum said.
He emphasized how widely aluminum is used in daily life and across the broader economy.
“And your viewers might say, “How does that affect me? Well, if you’re watching the show today, you’re using aluminum. If you drove a car today, a micro, if you’ve got your microwave, if you’ve got your cell phone, anything you touch, and of course your electricity transmission lines between states with aluminum, and if you flew on a plane today, of course aluminum touches literally. It’s hard to go through a day in America not touch aluminum,” Burgum said.
Burgum said the United States currently relies heavily on foreign aluminum and argued that the country needs both more domestic production and more reliable overseas suppliers.
“We were importing about 75 percent of the aluminum that we need. We need to do more smelting and developing of that product here in America, but we also have to have secure supply chains,” Burgum said.
He said Venezuela could now become part of that effort through direct shipments to the Gulf Coast.
“One of those is going to be directly from Venezuela to the Gulf Coast. This is going to help lower prices and improve security for all American industries,” Burgum said.
Roberts then broadened the discussion beyond aluminum, pointing to other natural resources that could become part of expanded economic ties between the United States and Venezuela.
“Yeah, Mr. Secretary, we’re talking about aluminum today. Has also been talking about gold. Of course, vast reserves that Venezuela has of oil. The increased economic cooperation between the United States and Venezuela. What a turnaround from the way it’s been for the past 25 years,” Roberts said.
Burgum responded by highlighting the economic activity already taking place on both ends of the shipment.
“Well, it’s incredible because, of course, the place where this is offloading here, this was an abandoned shipyard. Now has over six or 700 jobs here in Louisiana, and on the other end, where the smelter that’s producing this aluminum is operating at about 1/10 of its capacity,” Burgum said.
He said the arrangement could create room for greater economic development in both countries.
“So there’s an opportunity in Venezuela for economic development, and here in Louisiana,” Burgum said.
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The exchange focused on what both men described as a significant shift in U.S.-Venezuela economic relations. Burgum presented the aluminum shipment as both a supply-chain issue and a domestic jobs story, while Roberts pointed to the possibility of broader cooperation involving oil, gold and other resources.
For Burgum, the strategic importance comes from reducing vulnerability in a market where the United States imports a large share of the aluminum it consumes.
He argued that the country should continue expanding domestic smelting capacity while also establishing dependable international supply routes.
The Louisiana shipyard, which Burgum said had previously been abandoned, is now supporting between 600 and 700 jobs tied to the renewed activity.
At the same time, Burgum said Venezuela’s aluminum smelter is operating at only about one-tenth of its capacity, leaving substantial room for increased production.
The result, he argued, could be a relationship that helps American manufacturers secure more reliable access to aluminum while creating economic opportunities in Venezuela and along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The 15,000-metric-ton shipment is therefore being presented as more than a single trade transaction. Burgum described it as an early example of how normalized relations could translate into new supply chains, industrial activity, and closer economic cooperation between the United States and Venezuela.