The Digester

The Trump administration is using a 1980 statute to push U.S. seabed mining authorizations that would reach into the international seabed Area, prompting condemnation from the International Seabed Authority and raising legal and diplomatic risks for treaty parties.

President Trump issued an April 2025 order directing NOAA to expedite seabed mineral exploration and commercial recovery permits using a 1980 law.
The Metals Company applied via its U.S. subsidiary to mine polymetallic nodules in the Clarion Clipperton Zone, a nodule-rich area of the international seabed.
Under the Law of the Sea Convention the international seabed known as the Area is managed by the International Seabed Authority and its resources are held as the common heritage of mankind, not for any single state.
The United States has not ratified the Convention but historically respected its rules, and legal scholars disagree on whether unilateral U.S. authorization would violate customary international law.
Countries party to the Convention could face legal challenges if their nationals participate in U.S.-authorized mining in the Area.
NOAA described nodules in the Area as a domestic source of critical minerals in January 2026, though those deposits lie outside U.S. jurisdiction.

U.S. moves to authorize seabed mining beyond its jurisdiction

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