negotiated term
(6) Secretarial obligations and effect of section.— (A) In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall— (i) act in accordance with the trust responsibility of the United States relating to mineral and other trust resources; and (ii) act in good faith and in the best interests of the Indian tribes. (B) Subject only to the provisions of subsections (a)(2), (b), and (c) waiving the requirement of Secretarial approval of leases, business agreements, and rights-of-way executed pursuant to tribal energy resource agreements in effect under this section, and the provisions of subparagraphs (C) and (D), nothing in this section shall absolve the United States from any responsibility to Indians or Indian tribes, including, but not limited to, those which derive from the trust relationship or from any treaties, statutes, and other laws of the United States, Executive orders, or agreements between the United States and any Indian tribe. (C) The Secretary shall continue to fulfill the trust obligation of the United States to perform the obligations of the Secretary under this section and to ensure that the rights and interests of an Indian tribe are protected if— (i) any other party to a lease, business agreement, or right-of-way violates any applicable Federal law or the terms of any lease, business agreement, or right-of-way under this section; or (ii) any provision in a lease, business agreement, or right-of-way violates the tribal energy resource agreement pursuant to which the lease, business agreement, or right-of-way was executed. (D) (i) In this subparagraph, the term “negotiated term” means any term or provision that is negotiated by an Indian tribe and any other party to a lease, business agreement, or right-of-way entered into pursuant to a tribal energy resource agreement in effect under this section. (ii) Notwithstanding subparagraph (B), the United States shall not be liable to any party (including any Indian tribe) for any negotiated term of, or any loss resulting from the negotiated terms of, a lease, business agreement, or right-of-way executed pursuant to and in accordance with a tribal energy resource agreement in effect under paragraph (2). (iii) Nothing in this section absolves, limits, or otherwise affects the liability, if any, of the United States for any— (I) term of any lease, business agreement, or right-of-way under this section that is not a negotiated term; or (II) losses that are not the result of a negotiated term, including losses resulting from the failure of the Secretary to perform an obligation of the Secretary under this section.