155 



... Have developed mineral exporting nations, Canada and 

 the Soviet Union particularly, obstructed agreement 

 on deep seabed mining? 



A. Your characterization of the respective positions of 

 the Western developed states and the developing states in the 

 seabed mining part of the negotiations is accurate. 



Canada has sought protection for its domestic nickel 

 mining industry in the treaty text through the production 

 limit. It is not possible to say to what extent Canadian 

 efforts have obstructed agreement on the seabed mining text 

 as a whole, but certainly their actions have not made the 

 task of our negotiators easier over the past few years. 



The Soviet Union has not posed severe obstacles to 

 reaching agreement on seabed mining with the developing states. 



27. What happens if a successfully negotiated treaty is 

 not ratified by certain important nations, including this one? 



A. As I stated in my answer to question twenty, if a 



treaty does not enter into force for the U.S., our miners could 



mine the deep seabed pursuant to our domestic legislation so 



long as such mining does not interfere with the exercise of 



high seas freedoms by the nationals of other countries. If 



other industrialized countries do not ratify the treaty, the 



same is true for their nationals. 



28. Would it be fair to say that one of the most notable 

 effects of negotiations so far has been the movement towards 

 increased coastal state jurisdiction through the very consider- 

 able extension of national boundaries seaward? 



A. The evolution of state practice and the negotiating 



texts has shown some considerable interrelationalship. The 



