US Code
CHAPTER 2— ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS; FORMALITIES OF ENACTMENT; REPEALS; SEALING OF INSTRUMENTS
§ 112b. United States international agreements; transmission to Congress

(a)
The Secretary of State shall transmit to the Congress the text of any international
agreement (including the text of any oral international agreement, which agreement shall be
reduced to writing), other than a treaty, to which the United States is a party as soon as
practicable after such agreement has entered into force with respect to the United States
but in no event later than sixty days thereafter. However, any such agreement the immediate
public disclosure of which would, in the opinion of the President, be prejudicial to the
national security of the United States shall not be so transmitted to the Congress but shall
be transmitted to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on
International Relations of the House of Representatives under an appropriate injunction of
secrecy to be removed only upon due notice from the President. Any department or agency of
the United States Government which enters into any international agreement on behalf of the
United States shall transmit to the Department of State the text of such agreement not later
than twenty days after such agreement has been signed.
(b)
Not later than March 1, 1979, and at yearly intervals
thereafter, the President shall, under his own signature, transmit to the Speaker of the
House of Representatives and the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate a report with respect to each international agreement which, during the preceding
year, was transmitted to the Congress after the expiration of the 60-day period referred to
in the first sentence of subsection (a), describing fully and completely the reasons for the
late transmittal.
(c)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an international agreement may not be
signed or otherwise concluded on behalf of the United States without prior consultation with
the Secretary of State. Such consultation may encompass a class of agreements rather than a
particular agreement.
(d)
(1)
The Secretary of State shall annually submit to Congress a report that contains an
index of all international agreements, listed by country, date, title, and summary of
each such agreement (including a description of the duration of activities under the
agreement and the agreement itself), that the United States—
(A)
has signed, proclaimed, or with reference to which any other final formality
has been executed, or that has been extended or otherwise modified, during the
preceding calendar year; and
(B)
has not been published, or is not proposed to be published, in the compilation
entitled “United States Treaties and Other International Agreements”.
(2)
The report described in paragraph (1) may be submitted in classified form.
(e)
(1)
Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of State shall determine for and within the
executive branch whether an arrangement constitutes an international agreement within
the meaning of this section.
(2)
(A)
An arrangement shall constitute an international agreement within the meaning
of this section (other than subsection (c)) irrespective of the duration of
activities under the arrangement or the arrangement itself.
(B)
Arrangements that constitute an international agreement within the meaning of
this section (other than subsection (c)) include the following:
(i)
A bilateral or multilateral counterterrorism agreement.
(ii)
A bilateral agreement with a country that is subject to a determination
under section 6(j)(1)(A) 
1
1 See References in Text note
below.
of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2405(j)(1)(A)), section
620A(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (
22 U.S.C. 2371(a)), or section 40(d) of the Arms Export Control Act
(22 U.S.C. 2780(d)).
(f)
The President shall, through the Secretary of State, promulgate such rules and
regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section.
(g)
It is the sense of Congress that the executive branch should not prescribe or otherwise
commit to or include specific legislative text in a treaty or executive agreement unless
Congress has authorized such action.