Trump throws lifeline to Canadian deep-sea miner, setting scene for international clash

In a bold move that is rapidly escalating into an international governance crisis, President Donald Trump 2025 executive order to fast-track deep-sea mining has provided a critical lifeline to Canada's The Metals Company (TMC), enabling it to bypass UN regulatory bodies and pursue seabed mineral extraction. This unilateral backing by the United States threatens to fracture global ocean governance just as deep-sea ecosystems face unprecedented threats and a growing coalition of nations demands a moratorium on the nascent industry. The Trump administration's directive, Executive Order 14285, in April 2025, prioritized U.S. access to critical minerals like nickel, cobalt, and manganese, framing it as essential for national security and trade independence from China. Under this expedited framework, TMC, headquartered in Vancouver, successfully achieved 'substantial compliance' by June 2026 for its applications through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), securing priority rights for commercial recovery in international waters, including the ecologically vital Clarion-Clipperton Zone. This direct U.S. permitting system, based on the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA) of 1980, directly challenges the authority of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the UN body tasked with regulating deep-sea mining as 'the common heritage of humankind,' whose own 'Mining Code' remains unfinished and deeply contested after inconclusive March 2026 sessions. The immediate fallout is a sharp division within the international community, with over 40 nations, supported by environmental powerhouses like the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC) and Greenpeace, advocating for a global moratorium, citing irreversible ecological damage and unknown impacts on carbon sequestration. As the ISA prepares for a crucial July 2026 meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, coincident with global protests against deep-sea mining, the tension between national strategic interests and multilateral environmental protection is reaching a boiling point. The outcome will not only determine the fate of pristine deep-sea habitats but also set a precedent for the future of resource governance in international commons.