Unleashing America's Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources
The order directs multiple federal agencies to expedite permitting for seabed mineral exploration and mining — both on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf and in international waters — and to produce coordinated reports on supply chain investment, international partnerships, and stockpile strategy within 60 days.
Establishes a whole-of-government push to secure U.S. access to deep-sea deposits of nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, and rare earth elements as a direct counter to China's growing influence over global critical-mineral supply chains.
What this order does
What it orders
The order directs the Secretary of Commerce (acting through NOAA) and the Secretary of the Interior to each establish expedited permitting and leasing processes — for international seabed areas and the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf respectively — for critical mineral exploration and recovery. It also directs the Departments of Commerce, Interior, Energy, Defense, State, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, the Export-Import Bank, and the Trade and Development Agency to produce a series of coordinated reports within 60 days covering: private-sector investment opportunities, a seabed mapping plan, feasibility of a National Defense Stockpile for seabed-derived materials, tools for financing domestic and international extraction, and the viability of an international benefit-sharing mechanism.
The order does not itself change any existing regulation or grant any mining rights; the expedited processes require further agency action to take effect, and the stockpile, financing, and rulemaking steps depend on the reports that agencies are directed to produce. Implementation is expressly conditioned on applicable law and available appropriations.
Who it affects
U.S. companies seeking licenses or leases for seabed mineral exploration and extraction, federal agencies involved in permitting and strategic stockpiling, allied nations whose exclusive economic zones may become targets for U.S.-partnered development, and domestic mineral processing industries that could benefit from new grant, loan, or Defense Production Act financing.
Why it matters
Mining companies and investors in critical minerals gain a signal that federal permitting timelines for seabed projects will shorten. Defense and energy industries dependent on cobalt, manganese, and rare earths gain a formal government effort to reduce reliance on foreign — especially Chinese — supply chains. Allied countries may see new offers of U.S. technical and financial partnership for their own seabed resources.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
Every major action is due within the same 60-day window, after which the reports flow to the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and the National Energy Dominance Council, which will presumably direct next steps. The expedited permitting processes must still be established by the agencies themselves through existing statutory authority — the order is the trigger, not the process. Defense Production Act tools and stockpile decisions require further determinations by the Secretary of Defense and the Strategic and Critical Materials Board of Directors. No enforcement mechanism for missed deadlines is specified.
Actions and deadlines
- Expedite process for reviewing and issuing seabed mineral exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits in international areas
- Provide report on private-sector opportunities for seabed mineral exploration, mining, and processing capacity
- Develop a plan to map priority seabed areas, prioritizing the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf
- Establish expedited process for reviewing and approving seabed mineral permits and leases on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf
- Identify which critical minerals may be derived from seabed resources and coordinate with Defense and Energy on essentiality
- Engage allied partners on seabed development support and develop a prioritized country engagement list
- Provide joint report on feasibility of international benefit-sharing mechanism for seabed mineral extraction
- Provide report on feasibility of using the National Defense Stockpile for seabed-derived materials and offtake agreements
- Review and revise regulations to support domestic seabed mineral processing, and explore use of Defense Production Act authorities
- DFC, Export-Import Bank, and Trade and Development Agency provide joint report identifying tools to support seabed mineral development