First Page
1021
Abstract
This Article considers the wisdom and constitutionality of a proposed Massachusetts law penalizing companies that do business with Indonesia. In the March 1997 issue of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, two of the authors expressed concerns about the constitutionality of state and local restrictions on business ties with Burma (Myanmar). This Article applies a similar analysis to conclude that the proposed legislation is an unconstitutional violation of the Supremacy Clause and the Foreign Commerce Clause. The authors also argue that the federal government has clearly preempted action by Massachusetts: first by providing aid to Indonesia under the generalized system of preferences; second, through involving the Export-Import Bank in fostering trade with Indonesia, third, by enacting the International Rubber Agreement, which may require Indonesian cooperation for its success; and fourth, through Congress's own consideration and rejection of trade sanctions against Indonesia.
Recommended Citation
David R. Schmahmann, James Finch, and Tia Chapman,
Off the Precipice: Massachusetts Expands Its Foreign Policy Expedition from Burma to Indonesia,
30 Vanderbilt Law Review
1021
(2021)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/vjtl/vol30/iss5/2