US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order to accelerate deep-sea mining operations both within American territorial waters and beyond, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from Beijing and environmental groups.
Defying international regulatory efforts, Washington aims to lead the extraction of mineral-rich deep-sea nodules, bypassing the framework set by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and ignoring warnings over the environmental risks.
White House officials argue the initiative could inject hundreds of billions of dollars into the US economy and reduce America’s dependence on China’s dominance of critical minerals.
However, critics say the order undermines decades of work by global regulators seeking to establish fair rules and environmental safeguards for seabed mining. The United States never ratified the treaty that underpins the ISA’s jurisdiction over international waters and is not a member of the UN-affiliated body.
Instead, the Trump administration plans to act under an obscure 1980 law allowing the federal government to issue mining permits in international waters, according to the New York Times.
Trump’s executive order instructs the Secretary of Commerce to “expedite the process for reviewing and issuing seabed mineral exploration licences and commercial recovery permits in areas beyond national jurisdiction” within 60 days.
China, which holds more exploration licences than any other country but has awaited the ISA’s regulatory framework before proceeding with mining, reacted angrily.
“No country should bypass the International Seabed Authority and international law and arbitrarily authorise exploration and development activities,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun in response to AFP queries.
He added that the US move “violates international law and harms the overall interests of the international community.”
Deep-sea mining remains largely experimental, but with the global race for rare earth minerals intensifying — and China dominating the sector — the US appears determined to strengthen its access to seabed resources for use in defence, manufacturing and energy industries.
Environmental organisations have condemned the decision, warning of severe and potentially irreversible damage to fragile deep-sea ecosystems.
“Fast-tracking deep-sea mining is an environmental disaster in the making,” said Emily Jeffers, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Trump is trying to open one of Earth’s most fragile and least understood ecosystems to reckless industrial exploitation.”
The White House stressed that the mining strategy also aims to “strengthen partnerships with allies and industry to counter China’s growing influence over seabed mineral resources.”
The ISA, meanwhile, continues to struggle with drafting a rulebook for deep-sea mining, seeking to balance economic potential with the need for stringent environmental protection.
In a related development, the American company Impossible Metals recently announced it had requested US authorities to begin leasing procedures for a site near American Samoa, which falls under US jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, Canadian firm The Metals Company surprised the industry by revealing plans to seek US approval to mine in international waters. Its CEO, Gerard Barron, welcomed Trump’s move, calling it a necessary step to ensure America is not “left behind in a strategic arena increasingly influenced by China.”
Key targets of deep-sea mining include polymetallic nodules, potato-sized lumps found 4,000 to 6,000 metres beneath the surface, rich in valuable minerals such as manganese, iron, cobalt, copper and nickel.
According to senior US administration officials, the United States could potentially extract over a billion metric tonnes of these materials, creating an estimated 100,000 jobs and generating $300 billion in domestic GDP over a decade.
