Opinion | Trump’s executive order to boost US deep-sea mining will force China to act

On April 24, President Donald Trump issued a groundbreaking executive order directing the United States to accelerate deep-sea mining operations in international waters, marking the first time the US government has endorsed the commercial extraction of seabed minerals. This decision intensifies the global debate surrounding seabed resource governance, ecological sustainability and strategic competition – particularly between the US and China.

By circumventing established multilateral frameworks under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and directly challenging the International Seabed Authority (ISA) – the principal UN body tasked with regulating international seabed mineral exploitation – Trump’s move has set the stage for heightened geopolitical tensions, institutional uncertainty and serious environmental concerns.

The international seabed, rich in strategic minerals such as metallic nodules, sulphides and cobalt-rich crusts, is increasingly recognised as a critical frontier in renewable energy, semiconductor manufacturing and defence applications. Trump’s executive order authorising expedited deep-sea mining operations – which The Metals Company (TMC) has seized on – has significantly escalated tensions in global seabed governance.

From Beijing’s perspective, the US move constitutes a direct and unprecedented challenge to the multilateral framework managed by the ISA, raising profound institutional, environmental and geopolitical concerns that surpass mere competition over resources.

For decades, the ISA has been negotiating and developing deep-sea mining regulations within the Unclos framework. Trump has circumvented the ISA’s procedures by mandating that American federal agencies expedite licensing for seabed mining under domestic legislation such as the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act. This undermines the ISA’s legitimacy, potentially weakening international governance.