30 U.S.C. § 1441 — Declaration of Congressional intent

Congress intends: (1) any international agreement the United States joins should, along with other ocean goals, (A) give United States citizens assured, nondiscriminatory access to deep-seabed hard minerals on reasonable terms and (B) protect the rights of citizens who began exploration or commercial recovery under subchapter I before the agreement applies to the United States, allowing continuation on terms that do not impose significant new economic burdens that would make viable operations impossible; (2) whether an agreement meets these goals should be judged by all of its provisions, including the practical effect of discretionary powers given to an international regulator, that body's structure and decision process, available impartial and effective dispute procedures, and features that discriminate against United States exploration or recovery; and (3) this chapter should be transitional until (A) an agreement is adopted at the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea and takes effect for the United States, or (B) if that does not happen, a multilateral or other deep-seabed treaty is negotiated and takes effect for the United States.