international business law C8

international trade law

a body of public law used to determine the responsibilities that nations have to one another in their trade relations

compact

a subcat of treaty

free trade agreement

a trade agreement in which tariffs and non-tariff barriers are eliminated or reduced significantly, and that often contain additional provisions on matter of mutual concern (currency exchange, investment issues, cross-border transport etc.) e.g. multi-lateral: GAAT

convention

a treaty on matters of common concern, usually negotiated on a regional or global basis and open to adoption by many nations

trade agreement

an agreement btw nations on matters involving trade, tariffs, and related issues; purpose: open markets fro foreign goods and services by reciprocally reducing tariffs and non-tariff barriers (incl. the establishment of agreed-upon customs rules for imports), and may include rules for resolving trade disputes btw the countries party to the agreements

treaty in US (law of the land)

an international agreement negotiated by the president with the 'advice and consent' of the senate, and which has been approved by a 2-3s vote of the senate binding on both the federal and state governments with the same force as an act of Congress

congressional-executive agreements

based on authority granted by Congress to the president in a joint resolution or statue, or by treaty

The US court of International Trade

consists of 9 judges who hear cases arising from the trade or tariff laws of the US (in NYC) The court has exclusive jurisdiction over all civil actions commenced against the US involving 1) rev from imports or tonnage 2) tariffs, duties, fees, or other taxes on importation of merchandise fro reasons other than the raising of rev 3) embargoes or other quantitative restriction of the importation of merchandise for reasons other than the protection of the public health or safety 4) administration or enforcement of the customs laws

power of the president

constitution: appoints ambassadors, negotiates with foreign nations, and is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Make treaties, with the advice and consent of the senate as long as complying with the will of congress, they are acting with the full force of law

whether a treaty is self/non

depends on the language of the treaty, the history surrounding it, the intent of the president in negotiating it, and the intent of the senate in approving it

international emergency economic powers act (ieepa)

enables the president to block transactions or seize assets of individuals or orbs responsible for terrorism, illegal drug production or drug smuggling, or violations of human rights

shift in the balance of power btw Congress and the president

executive-legislative debate president Nixon-> congress 911 -> president

The Omnibus rade and competitiveness act of 1988

extended the president's authority to negotiate trade agreements, including an expansion of the US-Canadian free trade area to include Mexico in the NAFTA. It also gave even broader powers to the president to 'pry open' foreign markets that have unfair barriers to the entry of us goods and services (thru negotiations and sanctions)

trade promotion authority

fast-track process for approving trade agreements set by Trade Reform Act of 1974, expired in 2007 The statute gave the president authority to negotiate trade agreements pursuant to the objectives set out by congress congress made comments and vote to accept or reject the agreement as a whole

reciprocal trade agreements act

granted the president far more flexible powers to adjust tariffs than under any prior legislation: negotiate tariff reductions on a product-by-product basis reciprocally introduced MFN, changed to across-the-board tariff reductions in 1934m and gradually more authority

self-executing treaty

has a domestic law effect; once the treaty has been ratified, no further presidential or legislative action is required for it to become binding law: e.g. Montreal Convention, hague convention, tax treaties provide individuals with specific rights, which the courts will enforce

congress has the authority to

impose duties, to regulate commerce with foreign nations, to punish offenses against the law of nations, and to declare war

smoot-hawley tariff act of 1930

increase tariffs on imported goods Rooselvelt passed the reciprocal trade agreements act to lower tariffs

treaty

is an agreement, contract, or compact btw two or more nations (or btw a nation and a public international org e.g. UN) which is recognized and given effect under international or domestic law

executive agreements

made by the president, representing US, with a foreign country without resort to the formal treaty precess in the senate binding obligations of the US government and have the effect of law in the US; favored by the presidents 2: sole executive agreements and congressional-executive agreements

regional trade agreements

multilateral agreements encompassing a geographical region, e.g. NAFTA

equal dignity rule

of equal legal importance: self-executing treaties have the same legal effect as statutes passed by both houses of Congress. If inconsistent, the last in time prevails. A treaty will override an inconsistent prior act of congress and vice versa provided that Congress had expressed its intention to do so.

sole executive agreements

one that the president can negotiate and put into legal effect on the basis of his inherent authority, without congressional approval; usually reserved for agreements with foreign countries that do not affect the broad interests of the nation as a whole; needa be reported to Congress since 1972; most are btw two countries on specific matters based on powers inherent in being the chief executive of the nation and commander-in-cheif of the armed forces.

inherent executive powers

power to conduct foreign affairs, appoint ambassadors, receive foreign ambassadors, and act as commander-in-chief of the armed forces the president may only rely on these inherent powers when congress has not passed a law directing otherwise

import-export clause

prohibits the federal government from taxing exports and prohibits the states from taxing with imports or exports

US Department of Homeland security

protecting the American 'homeland', prevent terrorist attacks; 4 directorates: border and transportation security, emergency preparedness and response, science and technology, and information analysis and infrastructure protection

most-favored-nation trade/normal trade relations (NTR)

provided that a lower tariff rate negotiated with one nation would automatically be granted to like products imported form all other nations that had signed an MFN agreement with the US, without any concession being requested from those nations in return

non-self-executing treaty, executory

requires an act of Congress or of the president to give it legal effect

treaties of friendship, commerce, and navigation (FCN)

self-executing bilateral agreements that provide a broad range of protection to foreign nationals doing business in a host country allow the establishment of foreign branches or subsidiary corp; the free flow of capital and tech; the equitable and nondiscriminatory treatment of foreign firms, individuals, and products; the privilege of acquiring and owning real estate; and MFN trading status for goods

sum

separation of powers: congressional power over foreign commerce and foreign relations; inherent authority of the president as chief executive; delegations of power from congress to the president history of US trade law: smoot-hawley to WTO federal-state relations

Expanded powers

the president is authorized not just to reduce duties on products but also to take a wide range of executive actions to deal with the complexities of the modern business world; e.g. special trade relations with developing countries, negotiate rules fro dealing with agricultural trade problems, IMPs, reduction of barriers to trade in high-tech, ensure equal access to foreign high tech by US firms

international agreement

the primary instrument for implementing foreign political and economic affairs. include treaties and executive agreements

commerce clause

vests the federal government with exclusive control over foreign commerce conversely-negative implication doctrine: state government may not enact laws that impose a substantial burden on foreign commerce; federal governs conflicting states

Supremacy clause

when a law or regulation of the federal government directly conflicts with those of the state (or local) government, the federal law will still generally prevail when congress has expressed the intention that the federal law shall prevail or when the intention may be inferred from the legislation or from the circumstances federal preemption: federal rule will prevail over an inconsistent state rule

how congress delegate power

...

president's powers over foreign affairs derived from

1) inherent executive power 2) the treaty power 3) powers delegated by congress

general agreement on tariffs and trade (GAAT)

1947-1994 reduced tariffs and other barriers to trade through a series of multilateral trade negotiations in which countries made reciprocal tariff concessions to each other, and through the use of dispute panels to resolve trade disputes replaced with a new one in 1994, which led to the creation of the WTO GAAT negotiations are called rounds