Georgetown Center for the Constitution

Port Preference Clause

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another; nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.

Article I

Section 9

Clause 7

Thomas B. Colby, Revitalizing the Forgotten Uniformity Constraint on the Commerce Power, 91 Va. L. Rev. 249 (2005).

Arguing that, although the Port Preference Clause and Uniformity Clause were separated for stylistic reasons, the clauses are evidence that the Framers intended that the Commerce Clause be applied uniformly.
Nelson Lund, The Uniformity Clause, 51 U. Chi. L. Rev. 1193 (1984).

Noting that both the Uniformity and Port Preference Clauses were “meant to prevent geographic discrimination by Congress that would give one state or region a competitive advantage in its commercial relations with the others.”