This article analyzes the legality of U.S. unilateral seabed mining authorized by Executive Order 14285, signed by President Donald Trump on April 24, 2025, permitting mineral extraction on the U.S. continental shelf and international deep seabed. Critics, including China, the European Union, and the International Seabed Authority, contend that this policy violates international law by circumventing Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which designates seab...
