It marks his latest bid to step up US access to nickel, copper and other critical minerals

US President Donald Trump on April 24 signed an executive order aimed at boosting the deep-sea mining industry, marking his latest attempt to boost US access to nickel, copper and other critical minerals used widely across the economy.

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WASHINGTON -

The order, which he signed in private, seeks to jump-start the mining of both US and international waters as part of a push to offset China's sweeping control of the critical minerals industry.

Reuters first reported in March that the order was under deliberation.

Parts of the Pacific Ocean and elsewhere are estimated to contain large amounts of potato-shaped rocks known as polymetallic nodules filled with the building blocks for electric vehicles and electronics.

More than one billion metric tonnes of those nodules is estimated to be in US waters and filled with manganese, nickel, copper and other critical minerals, according to an administration official.

Extracting them could boost US gross domestic product by US$300 billion (S$394 billion) over 10 years and create 100,000 jobs, the official added.

"The United States has a core national security and economic interest in maintaining leadership in deep-sea science and technology and seabed mineral resources," Mr Trump said in the order.

The order directs the administration to expedite mining permits under the Deep Seabed Hard Minerals Resource Act of 1980 and to establish a process for issuing permits along the US Outer Continental Shelf.