Interstate Commerce Definition

The buying, selling, or moving of products, services, or money across state borders.

The commerce clause (U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 3) gives Congress plenary authority to regulate interstate commerce. As part of that authority, Congress regulates:

  • channels of interstate commerce, such as highways, railways, waterways, and airways over or through which commerce flows
  • instrumentalities of interstate commerce, meaning people and things moving in interstate commerce, and
  • local activities that substantially affect interstate commerce.