Policy Currents | The newsletter for policy people
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** April 29, 2025
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Deep Seabed Mining: What Might Happen Next?
Historically, the United States has largely been a passive observer of efforts to develop seabed mining. But according to RAND's Tom LaTourrette and Douglas Ligor, an executive order issued last week aimed at securing critical seabed minerals may signal that Washington is poised to "thrust itself into the center of the action."
If Washington proceeds down this path, then the geopolitical implications could be significant. Acting outside of International Seabed Authority processes could be viewed as a challenge to international law and risk isolating the United States. This might also encourage other nations, including China, to go it alone and conduct seabed mining on the high seas. That dynamic could increase the risk of conflict.
LaTourrette and Ligor also note that China currently dominates the world's nickel and cobalt processing capacity. This means that any entities engaging in seabed mining will likely have little choice but to send the nodules they mine to China for processing. So, the United States and its allies should focus not just on locating new supplies of metals but also on developing processing capacity. LaTourrette and Ligor point out that the executive order encourages expanding U.S. processing capacity--a "good start" to what will be a complex and costly endeavor.
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Construction Worker Shortages Threaten American Growth
U.S. plans for new factories, tech hubs, and homes are about to crash into one very inconvenient fact: There are not nearly enough construction workers to turn those plans into reality. A recent RAND paper finds that expanding construction apprenticeship programs and improving their completion rates could help. But apprenticeships alone won't fill the gap. The United States must find other ways to add the more than 430,000 skilled workers it needs to keep up with construction demand in 2025. Otherwise, the massive project of building America's future may remain on hold.
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How Will the Quantum Age Affect the Civil Justice System?
Major players in digital computing are looking toward quantum computing to fuel a new era of technological capabilities. A new RAND report highlights how such a revolution might affect the U.S. civil justice system. For example, quantum computers' ability to access and process vast volumes of sensitive data at once could pose serious challenges to preserving anonymity. Also, quantum computers' proneness to errors and the opacity of their calculations may challenge the traditional legal framework.
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** RAND Recommends
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- Following a deadly incident in Vancouver, Canada, this past weekend, RAND's Pauline Paillé discusses a recent study she led on how to prevent attacks that use vehicles.
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- RAND experts discuss "de-risking--without fully severing--drug supply chains with China."
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** Events
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Policy Lab: Mapping the Use of High-Quality Instructional Materials
Wednesday, April 30, 2025 (Online)
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How Resilient Is China's Economy?
Wednesday, May 21, 2025 (Online)
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Policy Lab: Protecting Schools, Protecting Students
Thursday, May 22, 2025 (Online)
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Admissions Webinar: Master of National Security Faculty Panel
Wednesday, May 28, 2025 (Online)
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