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Chairmanship of the Arctic Council
 As one of the eight Arctic nations, The United States was a key player in arctic cooperation and politics during their chairmanship of the Arctic Council between 2015 and 2017. Among their accomplishments during their chairmanship were the creation of the Agreement on Enhancing International Scientific Cooperation, which dealt with progressing scientific development in the Arctic, and the issuance of the executive order on Enhancing Coordination of National Efforts in the Arctic.

The adoption of the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters by the International Maritime Organization was another key development in Arctic Ocean governance. The Polar Code urges against restrictions on shipping for international trade and aims to protect the ecosystems of the Arctic through a series of safety and pollution prevention measures. The need for these measures grew out of growing concerns with the increase in shipping and cruise traffic, as well as melting polar ice freeing up transit routes such as the Northwest Passage. An increasing number of vessels have been able to transit the Northwest Passage owing to climate change. Sovereignty over the Northwest Passage has been a continuous point of debate between the United States and Canada.

Additionally, the United States ratified the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries, a landmark agreement which sought to promote research regarding the regulation of commercial fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean. Under this agreement, the states' vessels are not permitted to fish commercially in the Arctic unless their objectives relate to environmental conservation efforts. The objective of the agreement is to limit commercial fishing while the nations gather more data about the fisheries itself. Notably, this agreement was conceived before the Arctic Ocean fisheries began to be exploited.