Trump’s bold move: Stockpiling seabed metals to challenge China’s control of critical minerals

Trump plans seabed mineral stockpile to counter China’s resource dominance.

The Trump administration is preparing an executive order to authorise the stockpiling of polymetallic nodules—mineral-rich, potato-sized deposits found on the Pacific seabed—in a strategic move to reduce U.S. reliance on China for critical battery and defence minerals.

According to sources cited by the Financial Times, these nodules contain essential elements such as nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, and traces of rare earth minerals, crucial to clean energy technology, military hardware, and electronics.

This new stockpile would join existing U.S. reserves of oil and critical metals, bolstering supply security in case of a future conflict that might constrain imports from China.

The initiative reflects a broader Trump-era effort to achieve mineral self-sufficiency. Previous measures have included pressuring Ukraine into a minerals deal, suggesting the annexation of resource-rich territories such as Greenland and Canada, and incentivising domestic extraction.

Alexander Gray, former chief of staff to the U.S. national security adviser, told the Financial Times that focusing on seabed resources is logical, as “China increasingly views the deep seabed as a front line in economic and military competition with the U.S.”

Meanwhile, Beijing recently tightened export restrictions on certain rare earth elements, intensifying concerns about the vulnerability of U.S. supply chains.

Top Republicans like Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz have championed seabed mining. The 2023 defence budget even directed a feasibility study into refining seabed minerals for defence use. A House aide told the Financial Times: “This is a Chinese strategic capability built up for decades such that it could be weaponised.”

However, the U.S. remains absent from key global seabed mining negotiations, having never ratified the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Talks at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Jamaica recently stalled, with many nations supporting a mining moratorium due to ecological concerns.

Critics warn that deep-sea mining could irreparably damage little-known marine ecosystems. Additionally, some question whether U.S.-based efforts can match China’s entrenched mineral supply chains or Indonesia’s low-cost nickel production.

Gerard Barron, CEO of The Metals Company, told the Financial Times his firm had begun the U.S. permitting process under a 1980 law. Yet, former Biden envoy Jose Fernandez cautioned: “Companies will want to be careful proceeding without a permit from the ISA.”