AMENDING THE GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United States of America, including Title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.), as amended by Section 1111 of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (93 Stat. 315), and Section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2483), and as President of the United States of America, in order to provide for the continuation, to the greatest extent possible, of preferential treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for articles which are currently eligible for such treatment from countries designated as beneficiary developing countries, notwithstanding the numerous changes to the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS) (19 U.S.C. 1202) which have resulted from the enactment of Title II of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (93 Stat. 194 et seq.) and Proclamation 4768 to Carry Out the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (the Customs Valuation Code) and for Other Purposes, to make technical corrections to Executive Order No. 11888, of November 24, 1975, as amended, and to make conforming modifications to the TSUS, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. Annex II of Executive Order No. 11888, as amended, listing articles that are eligible for benefits of the GSP when imported from any designated beneficiary developing country, is further amended as provided in the Annex to this Order, attached hereto and made a part hereof. SEC. 2. Annex III of Executive Order No. 11888, as amended, listing articles that are eligible for benefits of the GSP when imported from all designated beneficiary countries except those specified in General Headnote 3 (c) (iii) of the TSUS, is further amended by deleting items 114.05 and 315.55 therefrom, and adding items 114.04 and 114.06 thereto. SEC. 3. General Headnote 3(c) (iii) of the TSUS, listing articles that are eligible for benefits of the GSP except when imported from the beneficiary countries listed opposite those articles, is modified by deleting therefrom the following: "114.05 Thailand 315.55 Philippines"; and by adding thereto, in numerical se- quence, the following: "114.04 Thailand 114.06 Thailand". SEC. 4. The amendments made with respect to items 315.55, 470.57, 772.69, 772.70, and 772.71 by Sections 1, 2, and 3 of this Order shall be effective as to articles that are both (1) imported on or after January 1, 1976, and (2) entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after July 1, 1980. SEC. 5. The amendments made by Sections 1, 2, and 3 of this Order, with the exception of those listed in Section 4 above, shall be effective as to articles that are exported to the United States on and after July 1, 1980. JIMMY CARTER The White House, June 28, 1980. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 3:58 p.m., June 30, 1980]
Executive Order 12222—Generalized System of Preferences for Developing Countries
Executive Brief • At a Glance
Annex II of Executive Order No. 11888, as amended, listing articles that are eligible for benefits of the GSP when imported from any designated beneficiary developing country, is further amended as provided in the Annex to this Order, attached hereto and made a part hereof.
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 June 28, 1980, this order concerns Generalized System of Preferences for Developing Countries. By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United States of America, including Title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.), as amended by Section 1111 of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (93 Stat. 315), and Section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2483), and as President of the United States of America, in order to provide for the continuation, to the…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
Annex II of Executive Order No. 11888, as amended, listing articles that are eligible for benefits of the GSP when imported from any designated beneficiary developing country, is further amended as provided in the Annex to this Order, attached hereto and made a part hereof.
Annex III of Executive Order No. 11888, as amended, listing articles that are eligible for benefits of the GSP when imported from all designated beneficiary countries except those specified in General Headnote 3 (c) (iii) of the TSUS, is further amended by deleting items 114.05 and 315.55 therefrom, and adding items 114.04 and 114.06 thereto.
The amendments made with respect to items 315.55, 470.57, 772.69, 772.70, and 772.71 by Sections 1, 2, and 3 of this Order shall be effective as to articles that are both (1) imported on or after January 1, 1976, and (2) entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after July 1, 1980.
The amendments made by Sections 1, 2, and 3 of this Order, with the exception of those listed in Section 4 above, shall be effective as to articles that are exported to the United States on and after July 1, 1980.
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
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
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
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.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 12,222 (June 28, 1980), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12222-generalized-system-preferences-for-developing-countries.