1、U.S. business groups are expressing disappointment over dimmed chances that the United States will ratify a decades-old global maritime pact. At least 34 Republican senators have declared their opposition to the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea, denying supporters the two-thirds Senate vo
2、te they would need for ratification.Maritime defense, shipping, and natural resources extraction are but a few of the endeavors covered by the Law of the Sea Convention, which governs how nations use the worlds oceans. Among major industrialized nations, only the United States has yet to join.The tr
3、eaty must be confirmed by the Senate for the U.S. to have any say in how it operates. But the Obama administrations hopes for a Senate vote were dashed this week because of growing Republican opposition to the pact.“This is something that is not going to happen this year, says Senator James Inhofe.T
4、here are some 35 members and many more, I might suggest, that would vote against it, should it come up.”Sovereignty issueInhofe says the treaty would erode U.S. sovereignty.“It would, for the first time in the history of this country, authorize the United Nations to have taxing authority over the Un
5、ited States of America,” he added.The Obama administration says the treaty does not allow any U.N. taxes. U.S. business groups support ratification, saying the treaty will expand opportunities for American companies and protect their maritime interests. The Senate opposition is disappointing to Joe
6、Cox, who heads a group representing Americas commercial shipping industry.“It is extremely frustrating, because the way we view the sovereignty issue is the U.S. would actually be expanding its sovereignty capabilities by acceding to the treaty,” he said.Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld d
7、iscusses his new memoir with members of the Union League Club in ChicagoCox says the United States could veto any royalties charged on companies that extract resources from the seabed. But that does not satisfy critics, like former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.“I do not believe the United
8、States should endorse a treaty that makes it a legal obligation for productive countries to pay royalties to less-productive countries based on rhetoric about common heritage of mankind,” he said.Joe Cox believes treaty detractors miss a larger point.“Cooperating with other nations on international
9、issues is not detracting from American exceptionalism, he said. In fact, I think it is highlighting American exceptionalism. But we have to be there to do it.”Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, left, accompanied by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, June
10、13, 2012.The current U.S. Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta supports the treaty.“As the worlds strongest, preeminent maritime power, we are a country that has one of the longest coastlines and one of the largest extended continental shelves in the world, Panetta said. We have more to gain by approving this convention than almost any other country.”A spokeswoman for Democratic Senator John Kerry, a treaty proponent, says Kerry still hopes the convention will be ratified, perhaps after the November elections.
