: May 29, 2025

As part of efforts to achieve independence from Chinese supplies of critical minerals, the Trump administration has expressed renewed U.S. interest in deep sea mining. An April 24 executive order titled Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources aims to rapidly develop U.S. seabed mining capabilities, including expediting the process for issuing mining licenses in areas beyond national jurisdiction. But with an international regime for seabed mining on the high seas already established by 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Washington faces difficult decisions about its path toward critical mineral resiliency. Tiếp tục đọc “Between Rocks and a Hard Place: Seabed Mining in the Pacific” →