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Executive Order 11858 Amended 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.29) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 11858—Foreign Investment in the United States

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Wednesday, May 7, 1975
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4 min read (730 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 4 min read (730 words) • ● Amended
🎯 Primary Mandate

There is hereby established the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (hereinafter referred to as the Committee).

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Foreign Nations & International Entities

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President Gerald R. Ford on May 7, 1975, this order concerns Foreign Investment in the United States. There is hereby established the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (hereinafter referred to as the Committee). The Committee shall be composed of a representative, whose status is not below that of an Assistant Secretary, designated by each of the following: (1) The Secretary of State. (2) The Secretary of the Treasury. (3) The Secretary of Defense. (4) The Secretary of Commerce.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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There is hereby established the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (hereinafter referred to as the Committee).

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The Committee shall be composed of a representative, whose status is not below that of an Assistant Secretary, designated by each of the following: (1) The Secretary of State.

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The representative of the Secretary of the Treasury shall be the chairman of the Committee.

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The Committee shall have primary continuing responsibility within the Executive Branch for monitoring the impact of foreign investment in the United States, both direct and portfolio, and for coordinating the implementation of United States policy on such investment.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities

Policy Areas & Topics

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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating 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: Strong Prerogative Support
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
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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
35 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Low Friction

Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Moderate Friction

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

Due Process & Individual Rights

Moderate Friction

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

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

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%).
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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
730
4,673 characters
Estimated Read Time
4 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
17.5
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.29
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United States of America, including the Act of February 14, 1903, as amended (15 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.), section 10 of the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, as amended (31 U.S.C. 822a), and section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. (a) There is hereby established the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (hereinafter referred to as the Committee). The Committee shall be composed of a representative, whose status is not below that of an Assistant Secretary, designated by each of the following: (1) The Secretary of State. (2) The Secretary of the Treasury. (3) The Secretary of Defense. (4) The Secretary of Commerce. (5) The Assistant to the President for Economic Affairs. (6) The Executive Director of the Council on International Economic Policy. The representative of the Secretary of the Treasury shall be the chairman of the Committee. The chairman, as he deems appropriate, may invite representatives of other departments and agencies to participate from time to time in activities of the Committee. (b) The Committee shall have primary continuing responsibility within the Executive Branch for monitoring the impact of foreign investment in the United States, both direct and portfolio, and for coordinating the implementation of United States policy on such investment. In fulfillment of this responsibility, the Committee shall: (1) arrange for the preparation of analyses of trends and significant developments in foreign investments in the United States; (2) provide guidance on arrangements with foreign governments for advance consultations on prospective major foreign governmental investments in the United States; (3) review investments in the United States which, in the judgment of the Committee, might have major implications for United States national interests; and (4) consider proposals for new legislation or regulations relating to foreign investment as may appear necessary. (c) As the need arises, the Committee shall submit recommendations and analyses to the National Security Council and to the Economic.Policy Board. It shall also arrange for the preparation and publication of periodic reports. SEC. 2. The Secretary of Commerce, with respect to the collection and use of data on foreign investment in the United States, shall provide, in particular, for the performance of the following activities: (a) The obtainment, consolidation, and analysis of information on foreign investment in the United States; (b) the improvement of procedures for the collection and dissemination of information on such foreign investment; (c) the close observation of foreign investment in the United States; (d) the preparation of reports and analyses of trends and of significant developments in appropriate categories of such investment; (e) the compilation of data and preparation of evaluations of significant investment transactions; and (f) the submission to the Committee of appropriate reports, analyses, data and recommendations relating to foreign investment in the United States, including recommendations as to how information on foreign investment can be kept current. SEC. 3. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized, without further approval of the President, to make reasonable use of the resources of the Exchange Stabilization Fund, in accordance with section 10 of the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, as amended (31 U.S.C. 822a), to pay any of the expenses directly incurred by the Secretary of Commerce in the performance of the functions and activities provided by this order. This authority shall be in effect for one year, unless revoked prior thereto. SEC. 4. All departments and agencies are directed to provide, to the extent permitted by law, such information and assistance as may be requested by the Committee or the Secretary of Commerce in carrying out their functions and activities under this order. SEC. 5. Information which has been submitted or received in confidence shall not be publicly disclosed, except to the extent required by law; and such information shall be used by the Committee only for the purpose of carrying out the functions and activities prescribed by this order. SEC. 6. Nothing in this order shall affect the data-gathering, regulatory, or enforcement authority of any existing department or agency over foreign investment, and the review of individual investments provided by this order shall not in any way supersede or prejudice any other process provided by law. GERALD R. FORD The White House, May 7, 1975.

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (6)

Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 11,858 (May 7, 1975), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11858-foreign-investment-the-united-states.