Many sovereignty costs of the convention have already been accepted by U.S. in other agreements

The sovereignty costs associated with the Convention are grossly overstated primarily because many of these costs have already been accepted by the United States. Provisions of the Convention that infringe upon sovereignty include limitations on unilaterally claiming territorial waters, limitations on economically exploitable areas on the seas, limitations on the continental shelf, revenue sharing provisions for exploitation of resources on the high seas, imposition of environmental obligations, and a mandatory dispute resolution mechanism.²² As will be discussed next, the United States has already agreed to most of these provisions through a variety of previously signed treaties.²³