Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the US Executive Order entitled Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources, published on 24 April 2025, whether he is taking steps to advance a global moratorium on deep-sea mining as a member of the International Seabed Authority.

The Government notes the US Executive Order on 'Unleashing America's Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources'. The UK is a party to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and is committed to the continued work of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) to finalise the draft exploitation Regulations. The UK supports a moratorium on the granting of exploitation licences for deep sea mining by the ISA until there is sufficient scientific evidence to assess the potential impact of deep-sea mining on marine life, and until the ISA adopts robust, enforceable regulations. This is a matter for all member States to consider carefully, and the UK will continue to engage actively at the ISA Council and Assembly in July.