Executive agreements are often used in order to bypass the requirements of national constitutions for ratification of treaties.
In the United States, executive agreements are binding internationally if they are negotiated and entered into under the president's authority in foreign policy, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, or from a prior act of Congress.
[2] The U.S. Supreme Court, in United States v. Pink (1942), held that international executive agreements validly made have the same legal status as treaties and did not require Senate approval.
The notification requirement enabled Congress to vote to cancel an executive agreement, or to refuse to fund its implementation.
[3][4] Governors or other statewide executive officers may sign onto joint agreements with their counterparts in other state governments which may not have the legal backing of their respective legislatures.