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Executive Order 12371 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 12371—Amending the Generalized System of Preferences

Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan
•
Monday, July 12, 1982
•
3 min read (583 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 Ronald Reagan on 1982-07-12, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Amending the Generalized System of Preferences." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

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

▪ 2461 et seq.), as amended, Section 604 of the Trade Act (88 Stat.
▪ 11888 of November 24, 1975, as amended, listing articles that are eligible for benefits of the GSP when imported from any designated beneficiary developing country is amended by adding in numerical sequence TSUS item numbers 688.32 and 688.34 created by Annex I of this Order, and by deleting TSUS items 688.35 and 688.44.
▪ 11888, as amended, listing articles that are eligible for benefits of the GSP when imported from all designated beneficiary developing countries except those specified in General Headnote 3(c)(iii) of the TSUS, is amended by deleting TSUS item 688.45 therefrom and inserting in lieu thereof TSUS item 688.43.
▪ In order to provide staged reductions in the rates of duty for those new TSUS items created by Annex I to this Order, Annex III to Proclamation 4707 of December 11, 1979, is amended by Annex II to this Order, attached hereto and made a part hereof.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises
Total Words
583
3,372 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
11.9
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 12371, Ronald Reagan (Jul 12, 1982). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12371-amending-the-generalized-system-preferences.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →
By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United States of America, including Title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (the Trade Act) (88 Stat. 2066, 19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.), as amended, Section 604 of the Trade Act (88 Stat. 2073, 19 U.S.C. 2483), and as President of the United States of America, in order to modify the limitations on preferential treatment for eligible articles from countries designated as beneficiary developing countries and to adjust the original designation of eligible articles, and in particular in order to clarify that certain import sensitive articles are and since the enactment of the Trade Act of 1974 have been precluded from eligibility for duty-free treatment pursuant to section 503(c)(i) of the Trade Act, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. In order to subdivide the nomenclature of existing items for purposes of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS) (19 U.S.C. 1202) are modified as provided in Annex I, attached hereto and made a part hereof. Sec. 2. Annex II of Executive Order No. 11888 of November 24, 1975, as amended, listing articles that are eligible for benefits of the GSP when imported from any designated beneficiary developing country is amended by adding in numerical sequence TSUS item numbers 688.32 and 688.34 created by Annex I of this Order, and by deleting TSUS items 688.35 and 688.44. Sec. 3. Annex III of Executive Order No. 11888, as amended, listing articles that are eligible for benefits of the GSP when imported from all designated beneficiary developing countries except those specified in General Headnote 3(c)(iii) of the TSUS, is amended by deleting TSUS item 688.45 therefrom and inserting in lieu thereof TSUS item 688.43. Sec. 4. General Headnote 3(c)(iii) of the TSUS, listing articles that are eligible for benefits of the GSP except when imported from the beneficiary countries listed opposite those articles, is modified by deleting "688.45... Hong Kong" therefrom and inserting "688.43 ... Hong Kong" in lieu thereof. Sec. 5. In order to provide staged reductions in the rates of duty for those new TSUS items created by Annex I to this Order, Annex III to Proclamation 4707 of December 11, 1979, is amended by Annex II to this Order, attached hereto and made a part hereof. Sec. 6. Whenever the column 1 rate of duty in the TSUS for any item specified in Annex I to this Order is reduced to the same level as, or to a lower level than, the corresponding rate of duty inserted in the column entitled "LDDC" by Annex I of this Order, the rate of duty in the column entitled "LDDC" for such item shall be deleted from the TSUS. Sec. 7. In order to correct a typographical error in Executive Order No. 12354 of March 30, 1982, Annex I thereto is modified by inserting in the column of rates to be inserted in the Rates of Duty 2 column of the TSUS for item 661.14 the rate "35% ad val.". Sec. 8. The amendments made by this Order are effective with respect to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after the day following the date of this Order, and for all articles previously entered for which liquidation has not been made final as of such date. RONALD REAGAN The White House, July 12, 1982. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 4:04 p.m., July 12, 1982]