ICANN has posted a draft agreement  with Verisign which will transfer the root zone file editing function to ICANN. Currently, the editing is done by Verisign under a crontract with the Department of Commerce. It’s peculiar, when you think of it, that a government has passed a contract to manage something it cannot claim to be the owner. AFAIK, there is no international law saying that the root zone file is the property of the US government. The root zone file is the common resource of the Internet community, of which the USG is a part, but only a part.

Bret Faussett thinks "it’s an important step foward in ICANN’s process toward independence from the U.S". I would not rejoice so early. With the DoC losing the possibility to control the root zone file though Verisign, it will try to gain control through ICANN. This makes the perspective of concluding a host country agreement to shield ICANN from local government control  even more unlikely.