Foreign policy & defense
trade agreement
A negotiated deal lowering trade barriers between countries. Most U.S. agreements are approved by ordinary majorities in both chambers, not as treaties.
In full
Congress has often granted trade promotion authority, under which it commits to an up or down vote without amendment on an agreement negotiated within stated objectives. That procedure makes agreements possible to conclude, and it is why trade deals are congressional-executive agreements rather than Article II treaties.
Also written as: trade promotion authority
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