By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and statutes of the United States of America, and in order to expand the membership of the President's Export Council, in accord with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. I), it is hereby ordered as follows: 1-1. Establishment and Membership. 1-101. There is established the President's Export Council. 1-102. The membership of the Council shall be as follows: (a) The heads of the following Executive agencies or their representatives: (1) Department of State. (2) Department of the Treasury. (3) Department of Agriculture. (4) Department of Commerce. (5) Department of Labor. (6) Office of the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations. (7) Export-Import Bank of the United States. (b) Three members of the United States Senate, designated by the President of the Senate, and three members of the United States House of Representatives designated by the Speaker of the House. (c) Not to exceed 28 citizens appointed by the President. These individuals shall be selected from those who are not fulltime Federal officers or employees. They shall include representatives of business and industry, agriculture, and labor. 1-103. The President shall designate a Chairman and a Vice Chairman from among the members appointed by the President. 1-104. The Secretary of Commerce, with the concurrence of the Chairman, shall appoint an Executive Director. 1-2. Functions. 1-201. The Council shall serve as a national advisory body on matters relating to United States export trade, including advice on the implementation of the President's National Export Policy, which was announced on September 26, 1978. It shall, through the Secretary of Commerce, report to the President on its activities and on its recommendations for expanding United States exports. 1-202. The Council should survey and evaluate the export expansion activities of the communities represented by the membership. It should identify and examine specific problems which business, industrial, and agricultural practices may cause for export trade, and examine the needs of business, industry, and agriculture to expand their efforts. The Council should recommend specific solutions to these problems and needs. 1-203. The Council may act as liaison among the communities represented by the membership; and, may provide a forum for those communities on current and emerging problems and issues in the field of export expansion. The Council should encourage the business, industrial, and agricultural communities to enter new foreign markets and to expand existing export programs. 1-204. The Council shall provide advice on Federal plans and actions that affect export expansion policies which have an impact on those communities represented by the membership. 1-205. The Council may establish, with the concurrence of the Secretary of Commerce, an executive committee and such other subordinate committees it considers necessary for the performance of its functions. The Chairman of a subordinate committee shall be designated, with the concurrence of the Secretary of Commerce, by the Chairman of the Council from among the membership of the Council. Members of subordinate committees shall be appointed by the Secretary of Commerce. 1-3. Administrative Provisions. • 1-301. The Secretary of Commerce shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide the Council, including its executive and subordinate committees, with administrative and staff services, support and facilities as may be necessary for the effective performance of its functions. 1-302. Each member of the Council, including its executive and subordinate committees, who is not otherwise paid a salary by the Federal Government, shall receive no compensation from the United States by virtue of their service on the Council, but all members may receive the transportation and travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, authorized by law (5 U.S.C. 5702 and 5703). 1-4. General Provisions. 1-401. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other Executive order, the functions of the President under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.G. App. I), except that of reporting annually to the Congress, which are applicable to the Council, shall be performed by the Secretary of Commerce in accordance with guidelines and procedures established by the Administrator of General Services. 1-402. Executive Order No. 11753 is revoked; however, nothing in this Order shall be deemed to require new charters for the Council, including its executive and subordinate committees, which were current immediately prior to the issuance of this Order. 1-403. The Council shall terminate on December 31, 1980, unless sooner extended. JIMMY CARTER The White House, May 4, 1979. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register 5:03 p.m., May 4, 1979]
Executive Order 12131—The President's Export Council
Executive Brief • At a Glance
There is established the President's Export Council. 1-102.
Legal Status & Amendment History
AmendedSource: 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 May 4, 1979, this order concerns The President's Export Council. 1-1. Establishment and Membership. 1-101. There is established the President's Export Council. 1-102. The membership of the Council shall be as follows: (a) The heads of the following Executive agencies or their representatives: (1) Department of State. (2) Department of the Treasury. (3) Department of Agriculture. (4) Department of Commerce. (5) Department of Labor.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
There is established the President's Export Council. 1-102.
The membership of the Council shall be as follows: (a) The heads of the following Executive agencies or their representatives: (1) Department of State.
Three members of the United States Senate, designated by the President of the Senate, and three members of the United States House of Representatives designated by the Speaker of the House.
Not to exceed 28 citizens appointed by the President.
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 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."
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.
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
Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.
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 President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.
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. 12,131 (May 4, 1979), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12131-the-presidents-export-council.