[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 81 (Tuesday, April 29, 2025)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 17735-17738]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-07470]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 81 / Tuesday, April 29, 2025 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 17735]]
Executive Order 14285 of April 24, 2025
Unleashing America's Offshore Critical Minerals
and Resources
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Background. The United States has a core
national security and economic interest in maintaining
leadership in deep sea science and technology and
seabed mineral resources. The United States faces
unprecedented economic and national security challenges
in securing reliable supplies of critical minerals
independent of foreign adversary control. Vast offshore
seabed areas hold critical minerals and energy
resources. These resources are key to strengthening our
economy, securing our energy future, and reducing
dependence on foreign suppliers for critical minerals.
The United States also controls seabed mineral
resources in one of the largest ocean areas of the
world. Our Nation can, through the exercise of existing
authorities and by establishing international
partnerships, access potentially vast resources in
seabed polymetallic nodules; other subsea geologic
structures; and coastal deposits containing strategic
minerals such as nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese,
titanium, and rare earth elements, which are vital to
our national security and economic prosperity.
Our Nation must take immediate action to accelerate the
responsible development of seabed mineral resources,
quantify the Nation's endowment of seabed minerals,
reinvigorate American leadership in associated
extraction and processing technologies, and ensure
secure supply chains for our defense, infrastructure,
and energy sectors.
Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States
to advance United States leadership in seabed mineral
development by:
(a) rapidly developing domestic capabilities for
the exploration, characterization, collection, and
processing of seabed mineral resources through
streamlined permitting without compromising
environmental and transparency standards;
(b) supporting investment in deep sea science,
mapping, and technology;
(c) enhancing coordination among executive
departments and agencies (agencies) with respect to
seabed mineral development activities described in this
order;
(d) establishing the United States as a global
leader in responsible seabed mineral exploration,
development technologies, and practices, and as a
partner for countries developing seabed mineral
resources in areas within their national jurisdictions,
including their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ);
(e) creating a robust domestic supply chain for
critical minerals derived from seabed resources to
support economic growth, reindustrialization, and
military preparedness, including through new processing
capabilities; and
(f) strengthening partnerships with allies and
industry to counter China's growing influence over
seabed mineral resources and to ensure United States
companies are well-positioned to support allies and
partners interested in developing seabed minerals
responsibly in areas within their national
jurisdictions, including their EEZs.
Sec. 3. Strategic Seabed Critical Mineral Access.
Within 60 days of the date of this order:
[[Page 17736]]
(a) The Secretary of Commerce shall:
(i) acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, and in consultation with the Secretary of State
and the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, expedite the process for reviewing and
issuing seabed mineral exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits
in areas beyond national jurisdiction under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral
Resources Act (30 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.), consistent with applicable law. The
expedited process, consistent with applicable law, should ensure
efficiency, predictability, and competitiveness for American companies;
(ii) in coordination with the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary
of Energy, and in consultation with the heads of other relevant agencies,
provide a report to the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, the
Chair of the National Energy Dominance Council, and the Vice Chair of the
National Energy Dominance Council that identifies:
(A) private sector interest and opportunities for seabed mineral resource
exploration, mining, and environmental monitoring in the United States
Outer Continental Shelf; in areas beyond national jurisdiction; and in
areas within the national jurisdictions of certain other nations that
express interest in partnering with United States companies on seabed
mineral development; and
(B) private sector interest and opportunities for polymetallic nodule and
other seabed mineral resource processing capacity in the United States or
on United States-flagged vessels; and
(iii) in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the
Interior, and the heads of other relevant agencies, and in cooperation with
commercial and other non-governmental organizations, develop a plan to map
priority areas of the seabed, such as those with abundant or accessible
undersea resources, in order to accelerate data collection and
characterization, prioritizing areas within the United States Outer
Continental Shelf.
(b) The Secretary of the Interior shall:
(i) establish an expedited process for reviewing and approving permits for
prospecting and granting leases for exploration, development, and
production of seabed mineral resources within the United States Outer
Continental Shelf under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C.
1331 et seq.), consistent with applicable law. The expedited process,
consistent with applicable law, should ensure efficiency, predictability,
and competitiveness for American companies; and
(ii) identify which critical minerals may be derived from seabed resources
and coordinate with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy to
indicate which critical minerals are essential for applications such as
defense infrastructure, manufacturing, and energy.
(c) The Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with
the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Interior,
and the Secretary of Energy, shall:
(i) engage with key partners and allies to offer support for seabed mineral
resource exploration, extraction, processing, and environmental monitoring
in areas within the national jurisdictions of those partners and allies,
including by seeking scientific collaboration and commercial development
opportunities for United States companies, and by developing a prioritized
list of countries for engagement; and
(ii) provide a joint report to the Assistant to the President for Economic
Policy, the Chair of the National Energy Dominance Council, and the Vice
Chair of the National Energy Dominance Council on the feasibility of an
international benefit-sharing mechanism for seabed mineral resource
extraction and development that occurs in areas beyond the national
jurisdiction of any country.
(d) The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of
Energy shall:
(i) provide a report to the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy,
the Chair of the National Energy Dominance Council, and the Vice Chair
[[Page 17737]]
of the National Energy Dominance Council that addresses the feasibility and
any potential benefits or drawbacks of using the National Defense Stockpile
for physical or virtual storage of materials derived from seabed
polymetallic nodules and of entering offtake agreements for these
materials;
(ii) in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, review and revise
existing regulations, consistent with applicable law, to support domestic
processing capabilities for seabed mineral resources, and explore the use
of grant and loan authorities, the Defense Production Act (50 U.S.C. 4501
et seq.), and other procurement and financing authorities for this purpose;
and
(iii) ensure the Strategic and Critical Materials Board of Directors
considers seabed mineral resource developments when recommending a strategy
for ensuring a secure supply of materials designated as critical to
national security to the Secretary of Defense under the Strategic and
Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C. 98 et seq.).
(e) The Chief Executive Officer of the United
States International Development Finance Corporation,
the President of the Export-Import Bank of the United
States, the Director of the Trade and Development
Agency, and the heads of other relevant agencies shall
provide a joint report to the Assistant to the
President for Economic Policy, the Chair of the
National Energy Dominance Council, and the Vice Chair
of the National Energy Dominance Council that
identifies tools to support domestic and international
seabed mineral resource exploration, extraction,
processing, and environmental monitoring.
Sec. 4. Definitions. As used in this order:
(a) The term ``mineral'' means a critical mineral
as designated pursuant to 30 U.S.C. 1606(a)(3), as well
as uranium, copper, potash, gold, and any other element
or compound as determined by the Chair of the National
Energy Dominance Council.
(b) The term ``seabed mineral resources'' means
polymetallic nodules, cobalt-rich ferromanganese
crusts, polymetallic sulfides, heavy mineral sands,
phosphorites, and other mineral-bearing materials.
(c) The term ``processing'' includes the
concentration, separation, refinement, alloying, and
conversion of minerals into usable forms.
Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
[[Page 17738]]
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
April 24, 2025.
[FR Doc. 2025-07470
Filed 4-28-25; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P