WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has defied international norms and instructed a quick start to deep-sea mining in domestic waters and beyond, sparking an angry warning from Beijing that the move “violates international law.”

Washington wants to lead efforts to scoop up mineral-rich deep-sea nodules and other material from the seabed, sidestepping an international regulatory effort and overriding the concerns of environmentalists.

White House aides say it could pump hundreds of billions of dollars into the American economy, and counter Beijing’s chokehold on key minerals. But it would also undermine decades of efforts by global regulators at the Internat­ional Seabed Authority to devise a level playing field and environmental protections for the industry.

The United States never ratified the agreements that empower the ISA’s jurisdiction over seabeds in international waters, and is not a member of the UN-affiliated body.

Instead, the Trump administration is “relying on an obscure 1980 law that empowers the federal government to issue seabed mining permits in international waters,” the New York Times reported.

Trump’s order gives the secretary of commerce 60 days to “expedite the process for reviewing and issuing seabed mineral exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits in areas beyond national jurisdiction.” The move sparked anger in Beijing, which holds more exploration licences than any other country but has held off mining awaiting the ISA’s rules.

“No country should bypass the International Seabed Authority and international law and arbitrarily authorise exploration and development activities,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said in response to a question.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2025