REVITALIZING AMERICAN DOMINANCE IN DEEP SEABED MINERALS: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed a historic Executive Order to restore American dominance in offshore critical minerals and resources.
- The Order rapidly develops domestic capabilities for exploration, characterization, collection, and processing of critical deep seabed minerals.
- It establishes the U.S. as a global leader in seabed mineral exploration and development both within and beyond national jurisdiction.
- It creates a robust domestic supply for critical minerals derived from seabed resources.
- It strengthens partnerships with allies and industry to counter China’s influence in the seabed mineral resource space.
- The Order instructs the Secretary of Commerce to expedite the process for reviewing and issuing exploration and commercial recovery permits under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act.
- The Order directs the Secretary of Commerce, along with the Secretary of Interior and Secretary of Energy, to provide a report identifying:
- Private sector interest and opportunities for seabed mineral exploration, mining, and monitoring in the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.
- Private sector interest and opportunities for nodule and other seabed mineral resource processing capacity in the U.S. or on U.S. flagged vessels.
- The Order directs the Secretaries of Commerce, State, and Interior to develop a plan to map priority areas of the seabed to accelerate data collection.
- The Order directs the Secretary of Interior to establish a process for reviewing and approving permits and granting licenses within the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and identify which critical minerals may be derived from seabed resources for defense, infrastructure, and energy purposes in coordination with the Secretaries of Energy and Defense.
- The Order directs the Secretaries of Commerce, State, Interior, and Energy to engage with partners and allies for seabed mineral exploration and provide a joint report for the feasibility of an international seabed benefit-sharing mechanism.
- The Order directs the Secretaries of Defense and Energy to provide a report addressing feasibility of using National Defense Stockpile for nodule-derived minerals; review and revise domestic processing capability for seabed mineral resources and DPA authorities; and have the Strategic and Critical Minerals Board develop a strategy.
- The Order directs the CEO of U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, President of Export-Import Bank of the U.S., and Director of U.S. Trade and Development Agency to provide a report identifying tools to support domestic and international seabed mineral resource exploration, extraction, processing, and environmental monitoring.
POSITIONING AMERICA AS A GLOBAL LEADER IN CRITICAL MINERALS: President Trump’s visionary leadership is positioning the United States at the forefront of critical mineral production and innovation.
- President Trump recently signed an Executive Order to increase American critical mineral production.
- President Trump also signed an Executive Order to open a Section 232 investigation to evaluate the impact of imports of these materials on America’s security and resilience.
- President Trump advanced the Ambler Access Project, a 211-mile industrial road through the Brooks Range foothills that enables commercial mining for copper, zinc and other materials in a remote Arctic area in Northwest Alaska.
- With this Executive Order, President Trump is accelerating seabed mineral exploration and development to unlock vast offshore resources for America’s economic and strategic advantage.