ADMINISTRATION OF THE EXPORT ADMINISTRATION ACT OF 1969, AS AMENDED By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United States of America, including the Export Administration Act of 1969, as amended (50 U.S.C. App. 2401, et seq.), and as President of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. Except as provided in Section 2, the power, authority, and discretion conferred upon the President by the provisions of the Export Administration Act of 1969, as amended (50 U.S.C. App. 2401, et seq.), hereinafter referred to as the Act, are delegated to the Secretary, of Commerce, with the power of successive redelegation. SEC. 2. (a) The power, authority and discretion conferred upon the President in Sections 4(h) and 4(1) of the Act are retained by the President. (b) The power, authority and discretion conferred upon the President in Section 3(8) of the Act, which directs that every reasonable effort be made to secure the removal or reduction of assistance by foreign countries to international terrorists through cooperation and agreement, are delegated to the Secretary of State, with the power of successive redelegation. SEC. 3. The Export Administration Review Board, hereinafter referred to as the Board, which was established by Executive Order No. 11533 of June 4, 1970, as amended, is hereby continued. The Board shall continue to have as members the Secretary of Commerce, who shall be Chairman of the Board, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the East-West Foreign Trade Board (Section 7 of Executive Order No. 11846, as amended). No alternate Board members shall be designated, but the acting, head of any department may serve in lieu of the head of the concerned department. In the case of the East-West Foreign Trade Board, the Deputy Chairman or the Executive Secretary may serve in lieu of the Chairman. The Board may invite the heads of other United States Government departments or agencies, other than the agencies represented by Board members, to participate in the activities of the Board when matters of interest to such departments or agencies are under consideration. SEC. 4. The Secretary of Commerce may from time to time refer to the Board such particular export license matters, involving questions of national security or other major policy issues, as the Secretary shall select. The Secretary of Commerce shall also refer to the Board any other such export license matter, upon the request of any other member of the Board or of the head of any other United States Government department or agency having any interest in such matter. The Board shall consider the matters so referred to it, giving due consideration to the foreign policy of the United States, the national security, and the domestic economy, and shall make recommendation thereon to the Secretary of Commerce. SEC. 5. The President may at any time (a) prescribe rules and regulations applicable to the power, authority, and discreation referred to in this Order, and (b) communicate to the Secretary of Commerce such specific directives applicable thereto as the President shall determine. The Secretary of Commerce shall from time to time report to the President upon the administration of the Act and, as the Secretary deems necessary, may refer to the President recommendations made by the Board under Section 4 of this Order. Neither the provisions of this section nor those of Section 4 shall be construed as limiting the provisions of Section 1 of this Order. SEC.. 6. All delegations, rules, regulations, orders, licenses, and other forms of administrative action made, issued, or otherwise taken under, or continued in existence by, the Executive orders revoked in Section 7 of this Order, and not revoked administratively or legislatively, shall remain in full force and effect under this Order until amended, modified, or terminated by proper authority. The revocations in Section 7 of this Order shall not affect any violation of any rules, regulations, orders, licenses or other forms of administrative action under those Orders during the period those Orders were in effect. SEC. 7. Executive Order No. 11533 of June 4, 1970, Executive Order No. 11683 of August 29, 1972, Executive Order No. 11798 of August 14, 1974, Executive Order No. 11818 of November 5, 1974, Executive Order No. 11907 of March 1, 1976, and Executive Order No. 11940 of September 30, 1976 are hereby revoked. JIMMY CARTER The White House, July 7, 1977. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 4:13 p.m., July 7, 1977]
Executive Order 12002—Export Administration Act of 1969
Executive Brief • At a Glance
Except as provided in Section 2, the power, authority, and discretion conferred upon the President by the provisions of the Export Administration Act of 1969, as amended (50 U.S.C. App. 2401, et seq.), hereinafter referred to as the Act, are delegated to the Secretary, of Commerce, with the power of successive redelegation.
Legal Status & Amendment History
AmendedActions on this order
- Amended by EO 13286
Source: Office of the Federal Register executive order disposition notes. Orders before 1994 show only actions recorded by later orders.
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Jimmy Carter on July 7, 1977, this order concerns Export Administration Act of 1969. Except as provided in Section 2, the power, authority, and discretion conferred upon the President by the provisions of the Export Administration Act of 1969, as amended (50 U.S.C. App. 2401, et seq.), hereinafter referred to as the Act, are delegated to the Secretary, of Commerce, with the power of successive redelegation. SEC. 2.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
Except as provided in Section 2, the power, authority, and discretion conferred upon the President by the provisions of the Export Administration Act of 1969, as amended (50 U.S.C. App. 2401, et seq.), hereinafter referred to as the Act, are delegated to the Secretary, of Commerce, with the power of successive redelegation.
The power, authority and discretion conferred upon the President in Section 3(8) of the Act, which directs that every reasonable effort be made to secure the removal or reduction of assistance by foreign countries to international terrorists through cooperation and agreement, are delegated to the Secretary of State, with the power of successive redelegation.
The Export Administration Review Board, hereinafter referred to as the Board, which was established by Executive Order No. 11533 of June 4, 1970, as amended, is hereby continued.
The Board shall continue to have as members the Secretary of Commerce, who shall be Chairman of the Board, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the East-West Foreign Trade Board (Section 7 of Executive Order No. 11846, as amended).
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
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
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.
Referenced By Later Executive Orders (6)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 12,002 (July 7, 1977), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12002-export-administration-act-1969.