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Current as of January 01, 2024 | Updated by Findlaw Staff
(a) The Secretary of State shall transmit to the Congress the text of any international agreement (including the text of any oral international agreement, which agreement shall be reduced to writing), other than a treaty, to which the United States is a party as soon as practicable after such agreement has entered into force with respect to the United States but in no event later than sixty days thereafter. However, any such agreement the immediate public disclosure of which would, in the opinion of the President, be prejudicial to the national security of the United States shall not be so transmitted to the Congress but shall be transmitted to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives under an appropriate injunction of secrecy to be removed only upon due notice from the President. Any department or agency of the United States Government which enters into any international agreement on behalf of the United States shall transmit to the Department of State the text of such agreement not later than twenty days after such agreement has been signed.
(b) Not later than March 1, 1979, and at yearly intervals thereafter, the President shall, under his own signature, transmit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report with respect to each international agreement which, during the preceding year, was transmitted to the Congress after the expiration of the 60-day period referred to in the first sentence of subsection (a), describing fully and completely the reasons for the late transmittal.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an international agreement may not be signed or otherwise concluded on behalf of the United States without prior consultation with the Secretary of State. Such consultation may encompass a class of agreements rather than a particular agreement.
(d)(1) The Secretary of State shall annually submit to Congress a report that contains an index of all international agreements, listed by country, date, title, and summary of each such agreement (including a description of the duration of activities under the agreement and the agreement itself), that the United States--
(A) has signed, proclaimed, or with reference to which any other final formality has been executed, or that has been extended or otherwise modified, during the preceding calendar year; and
(B) has not been published, or is not proposed to be published, in the compilation entitled “United States Treaties and Other International Agreements”.
(2) The report described in paragraph (1) may be submitted in classified form.
(e)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of State shall determine for and within the executive branch whether an arrangement constitutes an international agreement within the meaning of this section.
(2)(A) An arrangement shall constitute an international agreement within the meaning of this section (other than subsection (c)) irrespective of the duration of activities under the arrangement or the arrangement itself.
(B) Arrangements that constitute an international agreement within the meaning of this section (other than subsection (c)) include the following:
(i) A bilateral or multilateral counterterrorism agreement.
(ii) A bilateral agreement with a country that is subject to a determination under section 6(j)(1)(A) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2405(j)(1)(A)) 1, section 620A(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371(a)), or section 40(d) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2780(d)).
(f) The President shall, through the Secretary of State, promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section.
(g) It is the sense of Congress that the executive branch should not prescribe or otherwise commit to or include specific legislative text in a treaty or executive agreement unless Congress has authorized such action.
Cite this article: FindLaw.com - 1 U.S.C. § 112b - U.S. Code - Unannotated Title 1. General Provisions § 112b. United States international agreements; transmission to Congress - last updated January 01, 2024 | https://codes.findlaw.com/us/title-1-general-provisions/1-usc-sect-112b/
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