Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on the Executive Order Prohibiting Certain Transactions With Respect to North Korea
Issued 2011-04-18 by Barack Obama
Plain-English Overview
AI-generated summary explaining what this action does, who it affects, and why it matters
President Obama issued an executive order that prohibits the direct or indirect importation of goods, services, and technology from North Korea into the United States. Unless specifically exempted or authorized through a licensing process, all imports from North Korea are now banned. This action builds on earlier restrictions from 2008 and 2010 that were put in place to address what the President identified as threats from North Korea's nuclear weapons materials and provocative actions that destabilized the Korean Peninsula.
This executive action affects any American businesses or individuals who might import products or services from North Korea, as well as North Korean entities trying to do business with the United States. The order also helps implement United Nations Security Council requirements that member countries prevent certain transactions with North Korea. The Secretary of the Treasury, working with the Secretary of State, has authority to establish a process for considering licenses for specific imports that align with the order's purposes.
The President took this action under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which grants the executive branch authority to regulate international economic transactions during declared national emergencies. While this type of presidential sanction authority is well-established and has been used by presidents from both parties, the breadth of power delegated by Congress to the President in such cases has raised constitutional questions about whether such sweeping economic regulatory authority can be transferred to the executive branch, though courts have generally upheld these presidential decisions.
AI-generated summary for educational purposes
Constitutional Analysis
How this action fits (or doesn't) within Article II authority and existing law
This executive order ("Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on the Executive Order Prohibiting Certain Transactions With Respect to North Korea") imposes sanctions or economic restrictions targeting North Korea. The President's stated rationale: "the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13466 of June 26, 2008, and expanded in Executive Order 13551 of August 30, 2010." The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) grants the President broad authority to regulate international economic transactions when a national emergency has been declared. Presidents from both parties have used IEEPA extensively for foreign policy sanctions.
While the statutory authority is well-established, IEEPA's breadth has drawn constitutional criticism. The statute delegates sweeping power to the President during emergencies that can last for years or decades. The non-delegation doctrine questions whether Congress can transfer such broad economic regulatory authority to the executive branch. Despite these concerns, courts have generally deferred to presidential sanctions decisions.
Official Summary
Administration of Barack Obama, 2011 Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on the Executive Order Prohibiting Certain Transactions With Respect to North Korea April 18, 2011 Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:) Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq .) (IEEPA), I hereby report that I have issued an Executive Order (the "order") that takes additional steps to address the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13466 of June 26, 2008, and expanded in Executive Order 13551 of August 30, 2010. In 2008, upon terminating the exercise of certain authorities under the Trading With the Enemy Act (TWEA) with respect to North Korea, the President issued Executive Order 13466 and declared a national emergency pursuant to IEEPA to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by the existence and risk of the proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula. Executive Order 13466 continued certain restrictions on North Korea and North Korean nationals that had been in place under TWEA. In 2010,