Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2020

Abstract

This Essay looks at the regulation of foreign distilled spirits coming into the United States as a lens through which to understand how trade commitments become a part of U.S. law. The experience of distilled spirits in the last forty years demonstrates that trade agreements have the power to create new domestic rules, to lock in rules already on the books, and to be entirely powerless in the face of executive branch intransigence. But this story is just one illustration of competing authorities and unclear allegiances among the branches when it comes to issues of cross-border movement of goods and services. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, the commitments made in trade agreements seep into U.S. law in myriad undercounted ways, not just through implementing legislation or regulatory action. The Essay begins to peel back the layers of this complicated area at the intersection of foreign relations, trade, and administrative law.

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