ABSTRACT
Most-favored-nation (MFN) trade status combines both foreign and domestic policy. Trade is a powerful tool of American foreign policy. But by its very nature, it is also of critical importance to American business. As the case of MFN trade status illustrates, it is even possible for policy views to remain generally coincident until some external variable affects the pressures faced by either legislators or the president, driving a wedge between policy stances. The case of MFN trade status illustrates another instance in which the Qiadha decision has resulted in a heightened profile of conflict between the legislative and executive branches. Congressional action can result in varying degrees of conflict. In the 1989 cases of China and the Soviet Union, unlike in previous policy disagreements over MFN, congressional motivation to influence policy was not easily dismissed.
