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Executive Orders Archive

Every President • 1789 to Present

Executive Order 11958 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 11958—Administration of Arms Export Controls

Tuesday, January 18, 1977
6 min read (1,145 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

This executive order, signed by President Gerald R. Ford on 1977-01-18, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Administration of Arms Export Controls." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

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

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United States of America, including the Arms Export Control Act, as amended (22 U.S.C.
The Secretary of Defense and the Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, within their respective areas of responsibility, shall assist the Secretary of State in the preparation of materials for presentation to the Congress under that Section.
To the extent the standards and criteria for credit and guaranty transactions are based upon national security and financial policies, the Secretary of State shall obtain the prior concurrence of the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Treasury, respectively.
The Secretary of Defense, in the implementation of the functions delegated to him under Sections 36 (a) and (b) (1) shall consult with the Secretary of State, who shall, with respect to matters related to subparagraphs (D) and (I) of Section 36 (b) (1), consult with the Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.

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
Total Words
1,145
6,804 characters
Estimated Read Time
6 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
16.7
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 11958, Gerald R. Ford (Jan 18, 1977). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11958-administration-arms-export-controls.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)