By: u/RealKafkaEsquire
Instagram: @RealKafkaEsquire
Twitter: @Kafkaesquire
This report is only a summary and editorial regarding the executive orders (“EOs”) signed by the Trump Administration during the last week. EOs are not legislation or court opinions. They do not carry the weight of law, and are merely statements of policy within the executive branch. That is not to say they cannot be cited in court or legal pleadings, or aren’t relevant to the application of law, only that they are almost never controlling outside of internal executive branch administration.
EOs are signed and reported on, generally, a week before they are published into the Federal Register. Until such a publication, it can be difficult to know the exact language of the signed EO. For that reason, these reports only include EOs published in the Federal Register. While this can lead to these reports feeling delayed or dated, it is to ensure precision and clarity.
While I am a licensed attorney, this is not paid legal advice. Nothing in this communication is intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Unless expressly stated otherwise, nothing contained in this article should be construed as a digital or electronic signature, nor is it intended to reflect an intention to make an agreement by electronic means.
Signed: 5/12/2025
Published: 5/21/2025
This EO relies on the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (the “IEEPA”), the National Emergencies Act (the “NEA”), the Trade Act of 1974 § 604, and 3 USC 301.
Summary
Section 1 references EO 14257 that declared a national emergency regarding trade deficits. In this prior EO, the Administration established that any retaliatory tariffs enacted by other nations shall warrant modification of the tariffs established in that EO. It further references EO 14259 and EO 14266 in which the Administration raised the ad valorum duty rate for imports from China. It then says that based on no explicit facts, that the imposed heightened tariffs should be suspended for 90 days.
Section 2 then states that as of May 14, 2025 tariffs on China shall be reduced to 10% and the ad valorum rate to be reduced to 54%.
Section 3 details the changes that need to be made to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to accommodate the reduction of the tariff to 10%.
Section 4 details the changes that needed to accommodate the reduction of the ad valorum duty rate to 54%.
Section 5 orders various executive officials to take the necessary steps to accommodate the terms of this EO.
What It Means
This EO is the result of the publicly one sided negotiation between the Administration and China. Since the beginning of this Administration, President Trump has been attempting to induce trade negotiations with his contrived enemy, China. When no such negotiations materialized, despite repeatedly imposing outlandish tariffs, and the recent and mounting impacts to the economy, it is clear that the Administration realized it needed to reverse course. This EO creates a pause in the extreme tariffs leveled by this Administration on China.
Looking Forward
As tariffs fall, it will make imports less expensive than they were over the last month or so, but are still significantly higher than prior to this Administration’s actions. It is unclear if any ongoing trade negotiations with China are happening, or if China is even open to such negotiations. It is likely that as we approach the end of this 90 day pause we will see more rhetoric to try to encourage bribes, concessions, or other actions by China to personally enrich the members of this Administration to try and reach a trade deal. Such a trade deal will likely be the same or potentially slightly worse than the status quo. In the meantime small businesses, farmers, and everyday Americans will suffer higher prices and potential goods shortages.