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Executive Order 13701 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.60) 📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution

Executive Order 13701—Delegation of Certain Authorities and Assignment of Certain Functions Under the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015

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Friday, July 17, 2015
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4 min read (841 words)
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80 Fed. Reg. 43903

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 4 min read (841 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The U.S. Trade Representative, with the advice and assistance of executive departments and agencies participating in capacity building activities undertaken in accordance with section 102(c)(1) and (2) of the Act, shall perform the reporting function under section 102(c)(4) of the Act.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

Signed by President Barack Obama on July 17, 2015, this order concerns Delegation of Certain Authorities and Assignment of Certain Functions Under the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015. Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, the authorities granted to and functions specifically assigned to the President under title I of the Act are delegated and assigned, respectively, to the United States Trade Representative (U.S. Trade Representative).

Constitutional Assessment: This action represents an orderly exercise of Article II administrative discretion, managing the internal machinery and personnel of the executive branch without abridging the ancient liberties of the people.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪
Capacity Building

The U.S. Trade Representative, with the advice and assistance of executive departments and agencies participating in capacity building activities undertaken in accordance with section 102(c)(1) and (2) of the Act, shall perform the reporting function under section 102(c)(4) of the Act.

▪

The functions of the President under section 105(d)(1) of the Act are assigned to the U.S. Trade Representative, who shall conduct the environmental reviews under section 105(d)(1)(A) of the Act through the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee, and shall perform the reporting function under section 105(d)(1)(B) of the Act.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities
🏛️

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: Supportive of Execution
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
40 / 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

Moderate Friction

Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.

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
841
5,461 characters
Estimated Read Time
4 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
19.6
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.60
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (the "Act") (Public Law 114-26) and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby order as follows:

Section 1 . #sec-1

Authorities and Functions under the Act . (a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, the authorities granted to and functions specifically assigned to the President under title I of the Act are delegated and assigned, respectively, to the United States Trade Representative (U.S. Trade Representative). (b) The exercise of the following authorities of, and functions specifically assigned to, the President under, title I of the Act are not delegated or assigned under this order: (i) section 102(c)(1) and (c)(3) of the Act; (ii) section 103(a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), (a)(5), (a)(7), (b)(1), and (c)(2) of the Act; (iii) section 105(a)(5) of the Act; and (iv) section 106(a)(1)(A) and (E) of the Act. (c) (i) The functions of the President under section102(c)(2) of the Act with respect to establishing consultative mechanisms are assigned to the Secretary of State in consultation with the U.S. Trade Representative, with the advice and assistance of the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Commerce and, as the Secretary of State determines appropriate, the heads of other executive departments and agencies. (ii) The functions of the President under section 105(d)(1) of the Act are assigned to the U.S. Trade Representative, who shall conduct the environmental reviews under section 105(d)(1)(A) of the Act through the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee, and shall perform the reporting function under section 105(d)(1)(B) of the Act. (iii) The functions of the President under section 105(d)(2)(A) of the Act are assigned to the Secretary of Labor, who, in coordination with the U.S. Trade Representative, shall conduct the employment impact review under section 105(d)(2)(A) of the Act through the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee, and shall prepare the report under section 105(d)(2) of the Act. The functions of the President under section 105(d)(2)(B) of the Act are assigned to the U.S. Trade Representative, who shall perform the reporting function under that section. (iv) The functions of the President under section 105(d)(3) of the Act are assigned to the Secretary of Labor, who, in consultation with the U.S. Trade Representative and the Secretary of State, shall prepare the report on labor rights under section 105(d)(3)(A) and (B) of the Act, and to the U.S. Trade Representative, who shall perform the reporting function under section 105(d)(3) of the Act. (v) The functions of the President under section 105(e)(2)(A) through (C) and (E) of the Act with respect to preparing plans for implementing and enforcing agreements submitted to the Congress pursuant to section 103(b) of the Act are assigned to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, who shall carry out these functions with the advice and assistance of the Secretaries of State, the Treasury, Agriculture, Commerce, and Homeland Security and the U.S. Trade Representative and other executive departments and agencies as necessary.

Sec. 2 . #sec-2

Capacity Building . The U.S. Trade Representative, with the advice and assistance of executive departments and agencies participating in capacity building activities undertaken in accordance with section 102(c)(1) and (2) of the Act, shall perform the reporting function under section 102(c)(4) of the Act.

Sec. 3 . #sec-3

General Provisions . (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (b) In exercising authority delegated by or performing functions assigned in this order, officers of the United States: (i) shall ensure that all actions taken by them are consistent with the President's constitutional authority to (A) conduct the foreign affairs of the United States, including the commencement, conduct, and termination of negotiations with foreign countries and international organizations; (B) withhold information the disclosure of which could impair the foreign relations, the national security, the deliberative processes of the Executive, or the performance of the Executive's constitutional duties; (C) recommend for congressional consideration such measures as the President may judge necessary or expedient; and (D) supervise the executive branch; and (ii) may redelegate authority delegated by this order and may further assign functions assigned by this order to officers of any other department or agency within the executive branch to the extent permitted by law, and such redelegation or further assignment shall be published in the Federal Register . (c) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations. (d) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. BARACK OBAMA The White House, July 17, 2015.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 13,701, 80 Fed. Reg. 43,903 (July 17, 2015).