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Executive Orders Historical Archive
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Executive Order 13975 Revoked 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.60) 📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation

Executive Order 13975—Encouraging Buy American Policies for the United States Postal Service

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Thursday, January 14, 2021
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3 min read (664 words)
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86 Fed. Reg. 6547

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 3 min read (664 words) • ● Revoked
🎯 Primary Mandate

Within 90 days of the date of the FAR Council's issuance of any final rule discussed in section 2 of Executive Order 13881, the United States Postmaster General is encouraged to consider: (a) An amendment or amendments to the applicable sections of the SPP to conform with the FAR provisions regarding price differentials when the relative importance of price is more important than the other evaluation factors; and (b) An amendment or amendments to the applicable sections of the SPP to conform with the FAR provisions regarding when materials shall be considered to be of foreign origin.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Foreign Nations & International Entities

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

Signed by President Donald J. Trump (1st Term) on January 14, 2021, this order concerns Encouraging Buy American Policies for the United States Postal Service. As expressed in Executive Order 13788 of April 18, 2017 (Buy American and Hire American), Executive Order 13858 of January 31, 2019 (Strengthening Buy American Preferences for Infrastructure Projects), and Executive Order 13881 of July 15, 2019 (Maximizing Use of American-Made Goods, Products, and Materials), it is the policy of the United States to buy American and to maximize, consistent with law, the use of…

Constitutional Assessment: Reviewed under the Tenth Amendment and the principle of dual federalism, this order touches upon domains traditionally reserved to the sovereign States. The Framers would caution against any attempt to commandeer state officers or displace local police powers through federal executive fiat.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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Encouraged Rules

Within 90 days of the date of the FAR Council's issuance of any final rule discussed in section 2 of Executive Order 13881, the United States Postmaster General is encouraged to consider: (a) An amendment or amendments to the applicable sections of the SPP to conform with the FAR provisions regarding price differentials when the relative importance of price is more important than the other evaluation factors; and (b) An amendment or amendments to the applicable sections of the SPP to conform with the FAR provisions regarding when materials shall be considered to be of foreign origin.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities
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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)
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"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

"A feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government; and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, must be, in practice, a bad government." — Federalist No. 70 (1788)

Hamilton would view this directive as the natural and indispensable functioning of administrative leadership. Without the power to coordinate agencies, manage personnel, and resolve operational ambiguities, the modern presidency would be reduced to an impotent figurehead.

Hamiltonian Stance: Supportive of Execution
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." — 10th Amendment to the US Constitution (1791)

Mason would scrutinize whether this federal directive intrudes into police powers, land stewardship, or municipal domains historically reserved to local citizens. The Anti-Federalist demand is that federal administration must never supplant state self-governance.

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
36 / 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

Low Friction

Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.

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
664
4,228 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
27.4
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, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1 . #sec-1

Policy . As expressed in Executive Order 13788 of April 18, 2017 (Buy American and Hire American), Executive Order 13858 of January 31, 2019 (Strengthening Buy American Preferences for Infrastructure Projects), and Executive Order 13881 of July 15, 2019 (Maximizing Use of American-Made Goods, Products, and Materials), it is the policy of the United States to buy American and to maximize, consistent with law, the use of goods, products, and materials produced in the United States.

Sec. 2 . #sec-2

Definitions . As used in this order: (a) "Buy American" means all policies that require, or provide a preference for, the purchase or acquisition of goods, products, or materials produced in the United States, including iron, steel, and manufactured goods; and (b) "Buy American Laws" means all statutes, regulations, rules, and Executive Orders relating to Federal procurement or Federal grants—including those that refer to "Buy America" or "Buy American"—that require, or provide a preference for, the purchase or acquisition of goods, products, or materials produced in the United States, including iron, steel, and manufactured goods.

Sec. 3 . #sec-3

Purpose . (a) In certain competitive procurements, the United States Postal Service (USPS) currently applies its own Buy American domestic procurement preferences similar to Buy American Laws implemented across executive departments and agencies. Under such circumstances, and as expressed in section 2-36 of the USPS Supplying Principles and Practices (SPP), USPS procurement policies state that: (i) When the relative importance of price is more important than the other evaluation factors, 6 percent is added to the proposed price of the non-qualifying end product and this adjusted price is used for evaluation; and (ii) An end product qualifies as manufactured in the United States if the cost of its components mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States exceeds 50 percent of the cost of all its components, similar to domestic content requirements under the Buy American Laws. (b) Executive Order 13881 required the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council) to consider proposing new rules in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), title 48, Code of Federal Regulations, to strengthen Buy American preferential price differentials and domestic content requirements. To ensure consistency across the Federal Government as a whole and to further promote my Administration's Buy American policy goals, USPS is strongly encouraged to consider similar changes to its Buy American domestic procurement preferences.

Sec. 4 . #sec-4

Encouraged Rules . Within 90 days of the date of the FAR Council's issuance of any final rule discussed in section 2 of Executive Order 13881, the United States Postmaster General is encouraged to consider: (a) An amendment or amendments to the applicable sections of the SPP to conform with the FAR provisions regarding price differentials when the relative importance of price is more important than the other evaluation factors; and (b) An amendment or amendments to the applicable sections of the SPP to conform with the FAR provisions regarding when materials shall be considered to be of foreign origin.

Sec. 5 . #sec-5

General Provisions . (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; (ii) the authority granted by law to the USPS, its officers, or its Board of Governors; or (iii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations. (c) 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. DONALD J. TRUMP The White House, January 14, 2021.

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)

Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 13,975, 86 Fed. Reg. 6547 (Jan. 14, 2021).