COMPARE
Opponents of UNCLOS often point to the royalty payments required under Article 82 of the convention as a reason to reject ratifcation. However, on closer examination many of the criticisms of the revenue sharing agreeements do not hold up. The actual amount the U.S. would have to pay pales in comparison to the revenues that would be generated, a significant reason why industry represenatives have consistently been in favor of UNCLOS. Additionally, the concern that royalty payments would go towards anti-U.S. states and non-state actors could be mitigated if the U.S.
- Royalties U.S. has to pay on mineral and hydrocarbon worth it given the extraordinary benefits U.S. would gain
- Revenue sharing arrangement of UNCLOS is insignificant compared to value of resources and was negotiated with support of oil and gas industry
- U.S. foreign aid could be used to offset any required transfers to states, eliminating any tax burden
- Modest revenue sharing system in UNCLOS will not pose any burden on extracting industries and is in U.S. best interests
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VERSUS
By ratifying UNCLOS, the U.S. would be subjecting its resource extraction industries to control by the United Nations. Furthermore, these industries would be assessed a royalty fee on these resources that the International Seabed Authority would redistribute to other states, possibly counter to U.S. national security interests.
- Law of Sea structure still favors discredited and corrupt redistributionist model for foreign aid
- Actual royalty rate has yet to be determined, leaving US companies vulnerable to exorbitant costs
- Land-based mineral mining countries possess equivalent voting rights to the US in ISA
- Voting in ISA already beset by corruption and vote dilution
- UNCLOS would create new international authority for a massive and unprecedented transfer of wealth
- UNCLOS obligates states that mine the seabed to provide funds to subsidize its land-based competitors
- Under UNCLOS, U.S. revenues from offshore resource extraction would be redistributed to non-desirable state actors
- U.S. ratification of UNCLOS would give United Nations ability to impose tax on U.S. citizens
- UNCLOS participation would require U.S. to transfer significant royalties to International Seabed Authority