US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order to develop a domestic deep-sea mining industry, which activists say “bypasses” United Nations’ processes.

The controversial practice is currently illegal under the UN-convened International Seabed Authority (ISA) rules, Kallanish reports. The ISA has been negotiating for years on whether it should be allowed and in what modalities, with a decision expected this year.

Trump’s purpose is to establish the US “as a global leader in seabed mineral exploration and development both within and beyond national jurisdiction.” It comes as the country scrambles to secure critical minerals amid the trade war with China, which dominates the global supply chain.

The White House has ordered government agencies to determine areas of interest in the US Outer Continental Shelf, identify potential financing options, and speed up permitting for exploration and commercial recovery under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act. The law has been active since 1980, although it has never resulted in a company carrying out activities.

The order may benefit The Metals Company, a Canadian miner undergoing the application process for deep-sea mining under the Act. The group said last month that the US offered “the greatest probability” of issuing a permit “in a timely manner.”

Environmental group Greenpeace says that Trump’s actions are “bypassing” the ISA and “breaking the longstanding tradition of the US being a good-faith actor” on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“Authorising deep-sea mining outside international law is like lighting a match in a room full of dynamite – it threatens ecosystems, global cooperation, and US credibility all at once,” comments Arlo Hemphill, project lead on Greenpeace USA’s campaign to stop deep-sea mining. “The US government has no right to unilaterally allow an industry to destroy the common heritage of humankind, and rip up the deep sea for the profit of a few corporations.”

Source:Kallanish