Trump's deep-sea critical minerals order: an "all in" bet against China's export curbs and rising geo-economic fragmentation

The United States is expanding its economic presence in locations that were untouchable and not taken into account. On April 24, 2025, Donald Trump signed an executive order that provides for the intensification of the White House's efforts to extract, refine, and process critical minerals on the ocean floor.

This comes shortly after China imposed restrictions in April on the export of key critical minerals and magnets to the United States, such as samarium, gadolinium, terbium, magnets needed for defense, energy, AI, automotive and aviation, etc.

Against the backdrop of China's restrictions and despite expert skepticism about the extraction of critical minerals on the ocean floor when there are large reserves on land, Trump is clearly making an "all in" bet, which reflects the administration's decision as the final one in the existing fragmented relations with China.

The Trump administration's executive order signals the formation of a new paradigm of US resource sovereignty, in which the deep ocean floor plays a key role. It is the last global space that isn’t covered by the full jurisdiction of any state, but strategically crucial for technological and geopolitical dominance.