the constitution does not say how the united states can "end" a treaty. since the constitution has passed, the government has done this in a few ways. in 1798, the first time the government wanted to end a treaty (the 1778 treaty of alliance with france), congress passed a law ending the treaty. other times, in the 1800s, a few presidents ended treaties after congress asked them to. the first time a president ended a treaty without congress's approval was in the 1970s, when president jimmy carter ended a treaty with the republic of china. in a lawsuit called "goldwater v. carter", members of congress asked the supreme court to clarify whether a president could end a treaty on his own. the supreme court could not agree on a decision, and the case was dismissed (ended without a decision).