Title 30 — Mineral Lands and MiningRelease 119-73

§1441 Declaration of Congressional intent

Title 30 › Chapter CHAPTER 26— - DEEP SEABED HARD MINERAL RESOURCES › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - TRANSITION TO INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT › § 1441

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Congress wants any international agreement the United States joins to do three main things. First, it must guarantee U.S. citizens fair, non‑discriminatory access on reasonable terms to hard mineral resources on the deep seabed. It must also protect the rights of U.S. citizens who began exploration or commercial recovery under subchapter I before the agreement takes effect, so they can keep operating without being hit by big new costs that would make their projects economically unviable. Second, whether an agreement meets these goals should be judged by the whole agreement. That includes how any decision‑making powers affect investment security, the regulator’s structure and rules, whether there are fair, effective ways to resolve disputes, and any parts that unfairly target U.S. exploration or recovery. Third, this chapter is temporary until either an agreement from the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea takes effect for the United States, or, if that does not happen, a multilateral or other treaty about the deep seabed is negotiated and takes effect for the United States.

Full Legal Text

Title 30, §1441

Mineral Lands and Mining — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

It is the intent of Congress—

(1)that any international agreement to which the United States becomes a party should, in addition to promoting other national oceans objectives—

(A)provide assured and nondiscriminatory access, under reasonable terms and conditions, to the hard mineral resources of the deep seabed for United States citizens, and

(B)provide security of tenure by recognizing the rights of United States citizens who have undertaken exploration or commercial recovery under subchapter I before such agreement enters into force with respect to the United States to continue their operations under terms, conditions, and restrictions which do not impose significant new economic burdens upon such citizens with respect to such operations with the effect of preventing the continuation of such operations on a viable economic basis;

(2)that the extent to which any such international agreement conforms to the provisions of paragraph (1) should be determined by the totality of the provisions of such agreement, including, but not limited to, the practical implications for the security of investments of any discretionary powers granted to an international regulatory body, the structures and decisionmaking procedures of such body, the availability of impartial and effective procedures for the settlement of disputes, and any features that tend to discriminate against exploration and commercial recovery activities undertaken by United States citizens; and

(3)that this chapter should be transitional pending—

(A)the adoption of an international agreement at the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, and the entering into force of such agreement, or portions thereof, with respect to the United States, or

(B)if such adoption is not forthcoming, the negotiation of a multilateral or other treaty concerning the deep seabed, and the entering into force of such treaty with respect to the United States.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

30 U.S.C. § 1441

Title 30 — Mineral Lands and Mining

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73