By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. The East-West Trade Policy Committee is hereby redesignated as the President's Committee on East-West Trade Policy (hereinafter referred to as the Committee), and is hereby continued. It shall be composed of the following-described members: (1) The Counsellor to the President for Economic Policy. (2) The Secretary of State. (3) The Secretary of the Treasury. (4) The Secretary of Commerce. (5) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget. (6) The Executive Director of the Council on International Economic Policy. (7) The Special Representative for Trade Negotiations. SEC. 2. The Counsellor to the President for Economic Policy is designated Chairman of the Committee. The Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce are designated Co-Vice Chairmen of the Committee and Co-Chairmen of the Office of East-West Trade. SEC. 3. The Deputy Under Secretary of the Treasury who has been serving as the Executive Secretary of the East-West Trade Policy Committee, or his successor, shall continue to serve in that capacity with the Committee. The working group established by the Executive Secretary is hereby continued, and shall continue to include representation from the agencies represented on the Committee. The Executive Secretary shall continue to serve as chairman of the working group. SEC. 4. Negotiation of major trade initiatives shall continue to be handled under the chairmanship of individuals to be designated for the specific negotiations involved. RICHARD NIXON The White House, June 25, 1974.
Executive Order 11789 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Executive Order 11789—President's Committee on East-West Trade Policy
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 1 min read (258 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
The East-West Trade Policy Committee is hereby redesignated as the President's Committee on East-West Trade Policy (hereinafter referred to as the Committee), and is hereby continued.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Sovereign State Governments & Localities Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Richard Nixon on June 25, 1974, this order concerns President's Committee on East-West Trade Policy. The East-West Trade Policy Committee is hereby redesignated as the President's Committee on East-West Trade Policy (hereinafter referred to as the Committee), and is hereby continued. It shall be composed of the following-described members: (1) The Counsellor to the President for Economic Policy. (2) The Secretary of State. (3) The Secretary of the Treasury. (4) The Secretary of Commerce.
Constitutional Assessment: This action represents an orderly exercise of Article II administrative discretion, managing the internal machinery and personnel of the executive branch without abridging the ancient liberties of the people.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
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The East-West Trade Policy Committee is hereby redesignated as the President's Committee on East-West Trade Policy (hereinafter referred to as the Committee), and is hereby continued.
▪
It shall be composed of the following-described members: (1) The Counsellor to the President for Economic Policy.
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The Counsellor to the President for Economic Policy is designated Chairman of the Committee.
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The Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce are designated Co-Vice Chairmen of the Committee and Co-Chairmen of the Office of East-West Trade.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises
🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities
🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
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.
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority)
§
"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."
— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM
James Madison
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)
Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.
Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
AH
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.
Hamiltonian Stance: Supportive of Execution
GM
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.
Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
📐
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
32 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Low Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.
Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3
Moderate Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment
Moderate Friction
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments
Moderate Friction
Due Process & Individual Rights
Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.
Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers
Low Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.
Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️
Audit Synthesis
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
ℹ️
How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
258
1,658 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
12.8
High School
Text size:
🔗
Referenced By Later Executive Orders (2)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Gerald R. Ford • 1975-03-27
References Executive Order 11808—Establishing the President's Economic Policy Board, and for Other Purposes
Gerald R. Ford • 1974-09-30
Related Executive Orders
Other executive actions signed by Richard Nixon around this period.
EO 11792 Jun 25, 1974
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11792—Abolishing the Advisory Council on Intergovernmental Personnel Policy
📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 102 (a) of the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1910), and as President of the United States, effective July 20, 1974 the Advisory Council on Intergovernmental Personnel Policy is abolished and Executive Order…
Richard Nixon High School • 1m
EO 11791 Jun 25, 1974
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11791—Exemption of Kenneth H. Tuggle From Mandatory Retirement
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Kenneth H. Tuggle, Commissioner of the Interstate Commerce Commission, will, during June, 1974, become subject to mandatory retirement for age under the provisions of section 8335 of title 5 of the United States Code unless exempted therefrom by Executive order.
Richard Nixon College Level • 1m
EO 11790 Amended Jun 25, 1974
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11790—Providing for the Effectuation of the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Pursuant to the authority vested in me by section 30 of the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974, notice is hereby given that that act shall be effective as of June 27, 1974.
Richard Nixon Post-Graduate Legal • 5m
EO 11788 Jun 18, 1974
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11788—Providing for the Orderly Termination of Economic Stabilization Activities
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
The authority contained in the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970, as amended, to impose a system of mandatory wage and price controls expired at midnight on April 30, 1974.
Richard Nixon College Level • 8m
EO 11787 Jun 11, 1974
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11787—Revoking Executive Order No. 10987, Relating to Agency Systems for Appeals From Adverse Actions
📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
Except when otherwise provided by statute, the appeals system established by the Civil Service Commission under chapter 77 of title 5 of the United States Code, and section 22 of Executive Order No. 11491 of October 29, 1969, shall constitute the sole system of appeal for an…
Richard Nixon High School • 1m
EO 11793 Jul 10, 1974
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11793—Designation of Certain Officers of the Department of Agriculture to Act as Secretary of Agriculture
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
In case of the absence, sickness, resignation, or death of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Under Secretary of Agriculture, an Assistant Secretary of Agriculture or the General Counsel of the Department of Agriculture, in such order as the Secretary of Agriculture may from…
Richard Nixon College Level • 1m
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 11,789 (June 25, 1974), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11789-presidents-committee-east-west-trade-policy.
