WHEREAS I have directed the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations to conduct a long-range study of United States foreign trade policy (hereinafter referred to as "the study") and to recommend to me such legislative and other measures as may be required; WHEREAS the policies undertaken as a result of the study will have a significant impact upon the economy as well as upon the international relations of the United States; and WHEREAS the study will benefit from the views and recommendations of Members of the Congress, representatives of various sectors of the economy of the United States, and other interested agencies of the United States Government: Now, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, it is ordered as follows: SECTION 1. Preparation of study. (a) In conducting the study and in preparing his final recommendations to the President, the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations (hereinafter referred to as the "Special Representative") shall consider the views and recommendations of Members of the Congress, of the Public Advisory Committee on Trade Policy, and of other interested agencies of the United States Government concerning the future nature and direction of United States foreign trade policy. (b) The Special Representative shall determine the most effective ways and means of obtaining such views and recommendations in order to render them as useful to the study as possible. SEC. 2. Views of Members of Congress. For purposes of the study, the Special Representative shall review and consider the hearings on foreign trade held by various committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate during the 90th Congress, and shall seek the views and recommendations of the members of the committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate concerned with trade policy. SEC. 3. Public Advisory Committee on Trade Policy. (a) For purposes of the study, there is hereby established a committee to be known as the Public Advisory Committee on Trade Policy, which shall furnish its views and recommendations to the Special Representative. (b) The Committee shall be composed of not more than 35 members who shall be designated by the President from among, appropriately qualified citizens of the United States outside the United States Government, who shall be representative of various sectors of the economy of the United States, and who shall serve without compensation from the United States Government. (c) The Committee shall meet upon the request of the Special Representative. SEC. 4. Participation by other agencies. (a) For purposes of the study, the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Interior, Labor, State, and Treasury, and such other agencies as the Special Representative may from time to time call upon, shall furnish views and recommendations to him. (b) In addition, the agencies referred to in subsection (a.) shall, at the request of the Special Representative, assist him in the preparation of the study by all appropriate means. SEC. 5. Applicability of Executive Order No. 11007. (a) The provisions of sections 4, 6(a), 6 (b), 6(c), and 6(f) of Executive Order No. 11007 of February 26, 1962, which prescribes regulations for the formation and use of advisory committees, are hereby adapted and made applicable to the Public Advisory Committee on Trade Policy established by section 3 of this Order. (b) The Special Representative shall be responsible for assuring compliance with the provisions of Executive Order No. 11007 referred to in subsection (a) in relation to that Committee, and he is authorized to exercise the authority contained in section 6 (f) of that Order and to prescribe such additional regulations with respect to that Committee as he may deem necessary. SEC. 6. Prior body and orders. The Public Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations is hereby abolished, and Executive Order No. 11143 of March 2, 1964, and Executive Order No. 11159 of June 23, 1964, are hereby revoked. LYNDON B. JOHNSON The White House August 30, 1968
Executive Order 11425—Study of United States Foreign Trade Policy
Executive Brief • At a Glance
In conducting the study and in preparing his final recommendations to the President, the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations (hereinafter referred to as the "Special Representative") shall consider the views and recommendations of Members of the Congress, of the Public Advisory Committee on Trade Policy, and of other interested agencies of the United States Government concerning the future nature and direction of United States foreign trade policy.
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 30, 1968, this order concerns Study of United States Foreign Trade Policy. Preparation of study. (a) In conducting the study and in preparing his final recommendations to the President, the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations (hereinafter referred to as the "Special Representative") shall consider the views and recommendations of Members of the Congress, of the Public Advisory Committee on Trade Policy, and of other interested agencies of the United States Government concerning…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
In conducting the study and in preparing his final recommendations to the President, the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations (hereinafter referred to as the "Special Representative") shall consider the views and recommendations of Members of the Congress, of the Public Advisory Committee on Trade Policy, and of other interested agencies of the United States Government concerning the future nature and direction of United States foreign trade policy.
The Special Representative shall determine the most effective ways and means of obtaining such views and recommendations in order to render them as useful to the study as possible.
For purposes of the study, the Special Representative shall review and consider the hearings on foreign trade held by various committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate during the 90th Congress, and shall seek the views and recommendations of the members of the committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate concerned with trade policy.
For purposes of the study, there is hereby established a committee to be known as the Public Advisory Committee on Trade Policy, which shall furnish its views and recommendations to the Special Representative.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
Policy Areas & Topics
The Framers' Constitutional Council
1787 PrismEvaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.
"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."
James Madison
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)
Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.
Alexander Hamilton
The Energetic Executive & Unified Command
"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)
Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.
George Mason
Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment
"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)
The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Touches upon core congressional prerogatives: raises appropriations reallocation, tariff imposition, or statutory preemption questions.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 11,425 (Aug. 30, 1968), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11425-study-united-states-foreign-trade-policy.