Automated Sync Active • Database updated as of Recent Browse All Orders →
Executive Orders Archive

Every President • 1789 to Present

Executive Order 14257 Constitutional Fidelity (+0.71)

Executive Order 14257—Regulating Imports With a Reciprocal Tariff To Rectify Trade Practices That Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits

Wednesday, April 2, 2025
89 min read (17,734 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

This executive order, signed by President Donald J. Trump (2nd Term) on 2025-04-02, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Regulating Imports With a Reciprocal Tariff To Rectify Trade Practices That Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits." It is an expansive, comprehensive regulatory directive mandating coordinated enforcement, detailed procedural standards, and formal agency compliance benchmarks across multiple federal departments.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

1601 et seq .) (NEA), section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C.
I hereby declare a national emergency with respect to this threat.
For these reasons, I hereby declare and order: Section 1 .
The additional ad valorem duty on all imports from all trading partners shall start at 10 percent and shortly thereafter, the additional ad valorem duty shall increase for trading partners enumerated in Annex I to this order at the rates set forth in Annex I to this order.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
Total Words
17,734
125,917 characters
Estimated Read Time
89 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
14.1
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.71
Framers' Alignment index
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 14257, Donald J. Trump (2nd Term) (Apr 2, 2025). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-14257-regulating-imports-with-reciprocal-tariff-rectify-trade-practices.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)