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Treaties--Bilateral Treaties to Which the USA Is a Party: Getting Started

Introduction

Bilateral treaties are treaties between two countries (such as Argentina and Canada) or a treaty between a country and a supra-national entity (such as Switzerland and the European Community).  Bilateral treaties to which the USA is a party are those treaties between the United States of America and one other country (example:  USA-Estonia income tax treaty) or between the United States of America and a supra-national entity (European Union-USA Open Skies Agreement [on transatlantic airline routes]. 

Treaties may also be referred to as:

  • Conventions
  • Agreements
  • Final Acts
  • Charters
  • Protocols
  • Pacts
  • Accords

Important information regarding treaties includes:

  • Text of the treaty.
  • Subsequent modifications of the treaty (usually called protocols).
  • Signatories of the treaty.
  • Parties to the treaty (adhering to the treaty; usually means treaty has been "ratified," "accepted," or "acceded to."
  • Signatories of any subsequent protocols (signatories of treaty may not in fact have signed or ratified a protocol).
  • Parties to any subsequent protocols (parties of treaty may not in fact have signed or ratified a protocol).
  • Status of treaty.
  • Ratifications/Accessions, etc, of treaty.
  • Reservations, understandings, and declarations (often referred to as "RUDS").
  • Succession (for example, Latvia "succeeded" to certain treaties signed on its behalf by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics).
  • Scholarly Commentaries on treaties (which may include books and journal articles).
  • Travaux Préparatoires--Background documents (something like a US legislative history.  Most travaux préparatoires deal with multilateral international treaties).

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