​​​International trade agreements have multiplied in recent years. Supporters claim that the agreements carefully balance the benefits of free trade with the labor, environmental, and other regulatory interests of the signatory nations. Many states of the United States, however, claim that trade agreements unduly restrict or preempt state laws regulating commerce and other matters. As Congress considers the next round of trade agreements - such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership - the States will once again seek to preserve their constitutional role in protecting the public interest.

Thomas Barnico is a member of the visiting faculty at Boston College Law School, where he teaches Administrative Law, the Attorney General Clinical Program, the Legal Practice Externship Seminar, and the J. Braxton Craven Moot Court Team. Mr. Barnico formerly served Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1981 to 2010 and has been a director of the Attorney General Clinical Program at Boston College since 1989. He has also taught Federal Courts as a visiting professor at BC Law.