Critical Minerals
16 Articles
United States Seabed Mineral Activities: Understanding the Legal Landscape
Seabed mining is in the news. Distinctions on who, what, where, when, and why this U.S. mining might occur to guide legal governance.
To Secretary Rubio: Demand Freedom for Uzbekistan’s Political Prisoners
The United States must seize its chance to secure the release of political prisoners in Uzbekistan while it has the leverage to do so.
The Trump Administration Is Sabotaging Its Own Arctic Strategy
The Trump administration’s own Defense Department policies are undermining the operational means necessary to execute its Arctic strategy.
Getting Critical Minerals Certification and Due Diligence Right In the DRC-Rwanda Accord and Beyond (With a Lesson from a Punk Band?)
A concentration on decision-making, investment, and accountability will lead to a more impactful DRC-Rwanda minerals agreement and improve others as well.
Crisis as Catalyst: Seabed Minerals and the (Un)Making of International Law
Will President Trump, as President Truman did during the WWII era, succeed in refashioning the law governing international seabed minerals?
The Rulemakers of Deep-Sea Mining: How the U.S. and China Are Competing Beyond Minerals
In the race for critical minerals, those who control the legal and regulatory frameworks will shape who has access and which values define the future of resource extraction.
Export Controls and U.S. Trade Policy: Making Sense of the New Terrain
The Trump administration's use of export controls as leverage in trade diplomacy creates risks for key U.S. national security interests.
U.S. Sanctions Removal on Mining Magnate Would Set Back Peace and Investment in DR Congo
The Trump administration and Congress can end the cycle of looting, smuggling, and violent extraction of raw materials from the DRC and provide a better footing for peace.
Transparency for Minerals is Essential, and No One Can Go It Alone
Despite efforts for transparency, the minerals trade still fuels conflict and corruption; only joint action and accountability can ensure resources benefit communities.
Negotiations at Gunpoint: Does U.S. Pressure on Ukraine for a Minerals Deal Amount to Unlawfully Procuring a Treaty by Use of Force?
Coercion leveraged by the U.S. to secure Ukrainian mineral resources could be deemed use of force, rendering any resulting treaty void.
A Way Out of the DRC’s Proxy War
Today, ribs of gold and other essential treasures are a major driver of one of the deadliest conflicts in the world.
What Just Happened: Trump’s Executive Actions on Environment and Implications for US Climate Security
New executive orders create U.S. and global security risks in the face of climate change, which the Trump administration and Congress would be wise to mitigate.