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Executive Order 14389 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.60) 📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution

Ending Certain Tariff Actions

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Friday, February 20, 2026
•
5 min read (1,066 words)
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91 Fed. Reg. 9437

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 5 min read (1,066 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

To effectuate the terminations of the actions described in section 1 of this order, the head of each executive department and agency (agency) is authorized to and shall take all appropriate steps to end the additional ad valorem duties imposed under IEEPA in Executive Order 14193 , as amended; Executive Order 14194 , as amended; Executive Order 14195 , as amended; Executive Order 14245 ; Executive Order 14257 , as amended; Executive Order 14323 , as amended; Executive Order 14329 , as amended; Executive Order 14380 ; and Executive Order 14382 .

⚖️ 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 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 Trump on February 20, 2026, this order concerns Ending Certain Tariff Actions. In Executive Order 14193 of February 1, 2025 (Imposing Duties To Address the Flow of Illicit Drugs Across Our Northern Border), as amended; Executive Order 14194 of February 1, 2025 (Imposing Duties To Address the Situation at Our Southern Border), as amended; Executive Order 14195 of February 1, 2025 (Imposing Duties To Address the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People's Republic of China), as amended…

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

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Implementation

To effectuate the terminations of the actions described in section 1 of this order, the head of each executive department and agency (agency) is authorized to and shall take all appropriate steps to end the additional ad valorem duties imposed under IEEPA in Executive Order 14193 , as amended; Executive Order 14194 , as amended; Executive Order 14195 , as amended; Executive Order 14245 ; Executive Order 14257 , as amended; Executive Order 14323 , as amended; Executive Order 14329 , as amended; Executive Order 14380 ; and Executive Order 14382 .

▪

In light of recent events, the additional ad valorem duties imposed pursuant to IEEPA in Executive Order 14193 , as amended; Executive Order 14194 , as amended; Executive Order 14195 , as amended; Executive Order 14245 ; Executive Order 14257 , as amended; Executive Order 14323 , as amended; Executive Order 14329 , as amended; Executive Order 14380 ; and Executive Order 14382 shall no longer be in effect and, as soon as practicable, shall no longer be collected.

▪

All other actions, including any other action taken to address the national emergencies declared or described in Executive Order 14193 , Executive Order 14194 , Executive Order 14195 , Executive Order 14245 , Executive Order 14257 , Executive Order 14323 , Executive Order 14329 , Executive Order 14380 , and Executive Order 14382 , that do not impose additional ad valorem duties under IEEPA or involve steps necessary to implement the imposition of additional ad valorem duties imposed under IEEPA shall not be affected by this order.

▪

The national emergencies declared or described in Executive Order 14193 , Executive Order 14194 , Executive Order 14195 , Executive Order 14245 , Executive Order 14257 , Executive Order 14323 , Executive Order 14329 , Executive Order 14380 , and Executive Order 14382 or subsequent orders remain in effect and shall not be affected by this order.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ 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)
§

"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
60 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

High Friction

Touches upon core congressional prerogatives: raises appropriations reallocation, tariff imposition, or statutory preemption questions.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

High Friction

Invokes broad unilateral or emergency executive authorities that test the constitutional boundary of the Take Care Clause.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

High Friction

Creates friction with the Tenth Amendment by conditioning state grants, mandating local compliance, or preempting state police powers.

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%).
ℹ️
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
1,066
6,573 characters
Estimated Read Time
5 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
22.1
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.60
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document
FR Page 9437

Executive Order 14389 of February 20, 2026 Ending Certain Tariff Actions By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ( 50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. ) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act ( 50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. ), section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended ( 19 U.S.C. 2483 ), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code , it is hereby ordered:

Section 1 . #sec-1

Background. In Executive Order 14193 of February 1, 2025 (Imposing Duties To Address the Flow of Illicit Drugs Across Our Northern Border), as amended; Executive Order 14194 of February 1, 2025 (Imposing Duties To Address the Situation at Our Southern Border), as amended; Executive Order 14195 of February 1, 2025 (Imposing Duties To Address the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People's Republic of China), as amended; Executive Order 14245 of March 24, 2025 (Imposing Tariffs on Countries Importing Venezuelan Oil); Executive Order 14257 of April 2, 2025 (Regulating Imports With a Reciprocal Tariff To Rectify Trade Practices That Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits), as amended; Executive Order 14323 of July 30, 2025 (Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Brazil), as amended; Executive Order 14329 of August 6, 2025 (Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of the Russian Federation), as amended; Executive Order 14380 of January 29, 2026 (Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Cuba); and Executive Order 14382 of February 6, 2026 (Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Iran), I declared or described national emergencies with respect to unusual and extraordinary threats to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States and took actions to deal with those threats, including by imposing, pursuant to IEEPA, additional ad valorem duties on certain imports of certain foreign trading partners. In light of recent events, the additional ad valorem duties imposed pursuant to IEEPA in Executive Order 14193 , as amended; Executive Order 14194 , as amended; Executive Order 14195 , as amended; Executive Order 14245 ; Executive Order 14257 , as amended; Executive Order 14323 , as amended; Executive Order 14329 , as amended; Executive Order 14380 ; and Executive Order 14382 shall no longer be in effect and, as soon as practicable, shall no longer be collected. All other actions, including any other action taken to address the national emergencies declared or described in Executive Order 14193 , Executive Order 14194 , Executive Order 14195 , Executive Order 14245 , Executive Order 14257 , Executive Order 14323 , Executive Order 14329 , Executive Order 14380 , and Executive Order 14382 , that do not impose additional ad valorem duties under IEEPA or involve steps necessary to implement the imposition of additional ad valorem duties imposed under IEEPA shall not be affected by this order. The national emergencies declared or described in Executive Order 14193 , Executive Order 14194 , Executive Order 14195 , Executive Order 14245 , Executive Order 14257 , Executive Order 14323 , Executive Order 14329 , Executive Order 14380 , and Executive Order 14382 or subsequent orders remain in effect and shall not be affected by this order.

Sec. 2 . #sec-2

Implementation. (a) To effectuate the terminations of the actions described in section 1 of this order, the head of each executive department and agency (agency) is authorized to and shall take all appropriate steps

FR Page 9438

to end the additional ad valorem duties imposed under IEEPA in Executive Order 14193 , as amended; Executive Order 14194 , as amended; Executive Order 14195 , as amended; Executive Order 14245 ; Executive Order 14257 , as amended; Executive Order 14323 , as amended; Executive Order 14329 , as amended; Executive Order 14380 ; and Executive Order 14382 . The head of each agency shall immediately begin taking steps to effectuate this order and, as soon as practicable, terminate the collection of the additional ad valorem duties described in section 1 of this order. The head of each agency may, consistent with applicable law, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code , redelegate the authority to take such appropriate steps within the agency. (b) The Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the United States Trade Representative, as appropriate and in consultation with the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Chair of the United States International Trade Commission, and any other senior official they deem appropriate, shall determine whether modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States are necessary to effectuate this order and may make such modifications through notice in the Federal Register . (c) The Executive Order of February 20, 2026 (Continuing the Suspension of Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries), and the Proclamation of February 20, 2026 (Imposing a Temporary Import Surcharge to Address Fundamental International Payments Problems), are unaffected by this order. (d) This order affects only the additional ad valorem duties imposed under IEEPA pursuant to the Executive Orders described in section 1 of this order. This order does not affect any other duties, including duties imposed under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended, 19 U.S.C. 1862 , and section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, 19 U.S.C. 2411 .

Sec. 3. #sec-3

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; or (ii) 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.

FR Page 9439

(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. (d) The costs for publication of this order shall be borne by the Department of Homeland Security.

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

February 20, 2026.

🏛️Official NARA Filing:FR Doc. 2026-03832 Filed 2-24-26; 11:15 am
Billing Codes: 4410-10-P
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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 14,389, 91 Fed. Reg. 9437 (Feb. 20, 2026).