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executive agreement
noun
: an agreement between the U.S. and a foreign government made by the executive branch either alone or with Congressional approval and dealing usually with routine matters
Examples of executive agreement in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Instead, Trump could be expected to rely on executive agreements and bilateral deals to reshape America's global relations.
—Axios, 16 Oct. 2024
Although the administration is pursuing the deal as an executive agreement, which does not require congressional approval, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, has asserted the need for the White House to work with Congress on any such deals.
—David Kamin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2023
Anticipating partisan opposition, presidents now usually avoid the congressional approval process altogether by entering into political commitments or executive agreements instead.
—Rachel Myrick, Foreign Affairs, 14 June 2021
On a formatting level, the IPEF is an executive agreement and will not require congressional approval like a traditional trade agreement would, CSIS notes.
—Brigid Kennedy, The Week, 27 May 2022
Thus, though the JCPOA was technically an unenforceable multilateral executive agreement, Obama and Biden were able to project it as bearing Congress’s imprimatur and the status of international law.
—Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 7 Mar. 2022
Tehran has realized that an executive agreement like the JCPOA has no legal force in the U.S.
—Walter Russell Mead, WSJ, 9 Aug. 2021
Because it was set up as an executive agreement, not a treaty, congressional approval is not required, Mr. Purvis said.
—The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Nov. 2020
There was a significant outcry from Democrats and the Obama administration in 2015 when Republicans -- led by Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton -- wrote to Iranian leadership explaining the difference between an executive agreement and a treaty.
—Adam Shaw, Fox News, 5 May 2018
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Word History
First Known Use
1942, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of executive agreement was
in 1942
Dictionary Entries Near executive agreement
Cite this Entry
“Executive agreement.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/executive%20agreement. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.
Legal Definition
executive agreement
noun
: an agreement (as an armistice) between the U.S. and a foreign government that is made by the president and usually deals with a subject within the president's powers compare treaty
Note: An executive agreement does not carry the same weight as a treaty unless it is supported by a joint resolution. Unlike a treaty, an executive agreement can supersede a conflicting state law but not a federal law.
More from Merriam-Webster on executive agreement
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about executive agreement
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