Trade

Trade laws are enacted to ensure industry competitiveness in the United States. The U.S. Congress, by virtue of its constitutional prerogative of regulating interstate and foreign commerce, enacted several bills, including the Tariff Act of 1930 and the Trade Act of 1974, to govern trade. The American Constitution ensures that the country is a free market. American trade law do not just govern interstate trade, but also trade between the United States and foreign countries, to ensure the existence of free trade and prohibit the occurrence of anti-competitive business practices. Trade law has evolved through the years, in reaction of the constantly changing face of trade, both internally and internationally.

Trade law is a complicated area of the legal practice as it touches upon numerous other areas of the law, such as business laws, employment laws, tax laws, and antitrust laws. There are numerous issues accompanying trade and commerce, and each issue often require the assistance of attorneys who are expert in specific niche in law. With respect to intrastate commerce, state law applies. Resolving trade disputes arising from intrastate commerce relationship may not be as difficult as resolving trade disputes arising from interstate commerce relationship as only one set of law governs. Nevertheless, it is imperative for traders and business owners to seek the advice of expert trade law attorney as there are still nuances in state trade law that may not seem very obvious to even the most sophisticated of traders. Disputes arising from interstate commerce becomes increasingly more difficult as state trade law varies and may have little commonalities, except in the promotion of free trade.

Workers, being one of the most crucial element in trade and commerce, are protected by numerous trade laws, especially against job loss or reduced wages. Workers' rights are enshrined by different set of laws that interlink with trade laws. In addition, specific trade laws protect consumers from abusive and conspiratorial business practices. It is the Federal Trade Commission's main job to ensure that consumers are protected from fraudulent and deceptive business practices. While trade laws are in place to ensure a free economy, it cannot be helped that some industries form mergers. The FTC ensures that these mergers do not restrict competition, which harm consumers.

Trade law, when applied to international commerce, becomes even more complicated as international law, in general, or specific treatises, govern. The U.S. has trade agreements with almost all nations in the world, but each trade agreement is different depending on the industry. The U.S. also regularly limits the import and export of certain products with a specific country as a matter of foreign policy. Unprecedented events in the international arena also gives rise to amendment of American trade policy in order to protect the business interest of the United States. In the area of trade law, it is imperative to employ the services of an expert trade law attorney who can examine the law of its legislative intent as this is crucial for the interpretation and adjudication of the law.


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Drug Crimes

Drug crime law is a subset of criminal law, which deals with illegal possession, use, manufacture and sale of prohibited drugs. Drug crime law also deals with other criminal offenses associated with the possession, use, manufacture, and sale of illegal drugs. Illegal drugs include both "street" drugs and drugs specified under the Federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970.

Because drug crimes are "victimless" crimes, it has been proven a daunting task for both the federal and state level to enforce the law. Unless drug use has contributed to a violent crime, it is difficult for the government to run after the perpetrators because there is no "victim" except the user or the trader. Under the CSA, the federal government regulates the legal production, possession, and distribution of controlled substances. Some drugs listed under the CSA are allowed to be used and sold provided that they are for specific reasons, such as medical use. "Street" drugs, which are all deemed illegal in the United States, include cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.

All drug charges are considered felonies. The gravity, however, of the offense is determined upon the kind of drug involved, the quantity found with the offender, and the offender's intent to sell or use the drugs. The federal government, as well as the state government, is strict in enforcing anti-illegal drugs law that the penalties accompanying drug charges stiffer than the penalties for most crimes. Moreover, conviction for drug trafficking, especially if the trafficking is large scale, also leads to denial of federal benefits and forfeiture of real and personal property.

One of the most common issues arising from drug crimes is illegal stop and search or frisk. Police officers have the authority to stop and frisk suspicious individuals but because the Bill of Rights limits the government's encroachment upon personal liberties, in this case, the right against unnecessary search and seizures and unlawful issuance of warrants, those suspected of a drug crime can argue that they were illegally searched and stopped by law enforcement agencies. In defending a person accused of a drug crime, a drug crime law attorney must take note of the details prior to the arrest of the accused as the procedure as to how the accused was apprehended may lead to his or her acquittal.

With the rising incidences of interstate and inter-country drug trafficking, the federal government created an extensive web of agencies, enforcements, and programs meant to stop the proliferation of drug use in the United States. The government has identified, based on statistics, specific areas and ethnic groups where drug use and trade proliferates. It is thus not uncommon for law enforcement agencies to target impoverished neighborhoods or some ethnic groups in their surveillance. Some of these surveillance activities, however, result to ethnically-biased arrests and accusations. A person who is wrongfully accused of a drug crime badly needs the talent of a drug crime law expert as it is difficult to battle against a government that is bent on working towards a drug-free and safe society.

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