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Off The Precipice: Massachusetts Expands Its Foreign Policy Expedition From Burma To Indonesia, David R. Schmahmann, James Finch, Tia Chapman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

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 …