Giving the Treaty a Purpose
The U.S. is an international anomaly in that it has several instruments at its disposal to conclude agreements with other countries. The choice of the instrument determines what steps need to be taken in order to turn an informal promise into a formal and binding agreement under U.S. law. Whereas treaty ratification needs the support of two-thirds of the Senate, the congressional-executive agreement (“CEA”) requires a simple majority in both the Senate and the House.












