Though anticipated, Trump’s executive order on key offshore minerals and resources in America means that the US is poised to expand global scramble of important minerals, such as lithium and rare earth metals, into the high seas, while the majority of countries are negotiating rules on how to ensure mining is safe and potentially free of environmental destruction.
“The United States faces unprecedented economic and national security challenges in ensuring a reliable supply of important minerals independent of the control of foreign enemies,” he said, and has implemented the preamble to the President’s 139th Executive Order since taking office in January. China is specifically named later in the document.
The order, released Thursday, requires government officials to assess “opportunities for subsea mineral resource exploration, mining and environmental surveillance in the US external continental shelf, areas outside their national jurisdiction, and areas within the national jurisdiction of a particular nation expressing interest in partnering with US mineral mineral development.”
The scale of Trump’s ambitions is far beyond that of Norway, which announced its own plan that was shelved after a backlash from environmentalists last year.
On the day the US President signed the executive order, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Girl Stile said the last-minute parliamentary bloc on his government’s undersea ambitions was merely a postponement — Washington for two-way discussions on trade with Ukraine.
Fast Trucks for Exploration
Trump has directed U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to “help the process of reviewing and issuing submarine mineral exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits in areas beyond national jurisdiction under the Deep Sea Hard Mineral Resources Act.”
This means that the US has been using domestic laws, as reported by EuroNews earlier this week, avoiding ongoing consultations within domestic international consultations (ISAs) since the 1980s.
“We are pleased to announce that we are a great opportunity to help you,” said Katy Matthews, chief scientist and senior vice-chairman at Oceana, Global Campaign Group. “If we try to accelerate deep-sea mining without proper protection, we will only speed up the destruction of our oceans.”
This was echoed by the Washington-based Group Ocean Conservancy. His vice president, Jeff Watters, pointed out that the US undersea regions that were tested for mining 50 years ago have yet to fully recover. Furthermore, moves by the Trump administration could cause a devastating rush to secure minerals called new oil. “By unilaterally pursuing mining in international waters against other parts of the world, the administration is opening the door for other countries to do the same,” he said.
The executive order follows a warning last month from ISA Executive Director Leticia Carvalho that “unilateral litigation constitutes a violation of international law.” However, in addition to 169 countries, the United States is not among the EU that has ratified the comprehensive UN treaty on marine law.
The move by Washington came on the same day that the European Commission proposed a proposal to incorporate recent biodiversity into EU law, also to the High Seas Treaty, which seeks to establish a high seas (MPA) along the Bio River City of the 2022 Kunmuntor Agreement.
