In What Ways Is A Treaty Different From An Executive Agreement

The second option is the executive agreement. Executive agreements can be divided into different types. Agreements between Congress and the executive require a simple majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.Footnote 21 They are used in areas where the executive does not have exclusive jurisdiction. Congressional approval can be obtained after the agreement has been negotiated, as was the case for NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) at the bottom of page 22 or the Uruguay Round agreements of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Footnote 23 Footnote 23 It is much more common, however, for Congress to give broad authorization to the ex ante president in a statute. Footnote 24 As each observation of the dataset is a contract year, the analysis takes into account the differences in durability of different types of agreements, while maintaining other consistent characteristics. Differences in shelf life are estimated using survival time analysis. These methods are also called historical studies of events. Footnote 88 Before proceeding, it is useful to define a few keywords. Survival time analysis is mainly used in medical sciences using the terminology most common in clinical trials. A “subject” is a unit of observation, here an agreement. An “event”, “death” or “failure” are synonymous with the appearance of incidental interest, here the withdrawal of an agreement. The “survival time” is the period between the beginning of the observation and the occurrence of the incident, in this case the period during which an agreement is in force.

The agreements in force during the last observation period are considered “staged”, that is: with a survival period that has a known lower limit and an unknown ceiling, because it cannot be observed how long the agreement will ultimately last. Footnote 89 Finally, a hazard rate refers to the probability that an event will occur. 18 As regards the reasons which lead the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to repeal an agreement, see paragraph 14.41 i.1.1336 (“[I]n the President, it will probably be more difficult, on the whole, to withdraw unilaterally from an executive congress agreement than from an Article II treaty.”). Some scientists doubt the claim that presidents can more easily withdraw from treaties than from agreements between Congress and the executive branch.