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Coalter G Lathrop, Senior Lecturing Fellow in International Law, Duke University

In its hunt for critical minerals, the US is misconstruing what is and is not America’s

United States America Donald Trump Area Mining The United States NOAA Harry Truman Ocean the International Seabed Authority
A metal claw reaches for an iron and manganese nodule on the seabed for testing. USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Americans have a reputation for being bad at world geography, and the current U.S. administration is no exception, particularly when it comes to correctly identifying what is – and is not – part of the United States of America.

President Donald Trump’s April 2025 executive order “unleashing America’s offshore critical minerals” provides an example. It purports to “unleash” seabed minerals both within and far outside U.S. jurisdiction.

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