Opinion ID: 2645374
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Foreign Affairs Preemption Standards

Text: “The Constitution gives the federal government the exclusive authority to administer foreign affairs.” Movsesian v. Victoria Versicherung AG, 670 F.3d 1067, 1071 (9th Cir. 2012) (en banc), cert. denied, 133 S. Ct. 2795 (2013). Accordingly, “state laws that intrude on this exclusively federal power are preempted” under the foreign affairs doctrine. Id. Under foreign affairs preemption there are two grounds for preemption: (1) conflict preemption and (2) field preemption. Id. Conflict preemption occurs when a state acts under its traditional power, but the state law conflicts with a federal action such as a treaty, federal statute, or executive branch policy. Id. at 1071–72. The district court held that § 338(c) was not preempted on the basis of conflict preemption, and the Foundation does not challenge that ruling on appeal. Field preemption occurs when a state, “in the absence of any express federal policy . . . intrudes on the field of foreign affairs without addressing a traditional state responsibility.” Id. at 1072. The Cassirers argue that the district court erred when it held that § 338(c)(3), as amended, is unconstitutional on the basis of field preemption. We agree. CASSIRER V. THYSSEN-BORNEMISZA 9