Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 19 / Thursday, January 30, 2025 / Presidential Documents 8471 

Memorandum of January 20, 2025 

America First Trade Policy 

Memorandum for the Secretary of State[,] the Secretary of the Treasury[,] 

the Secretary of Defense[,] the Secretary of Commerce[,] the Secretary of 

Homeland Security[,] the Director of the Office of Management and 

Budget[,] the United States Trade Representative[,] the Assistant to the 

President for Economic Policy[, and] the Senior Counselor for Trade and 

Manufacturing 

Section 1. Background. In 2017, my Administration pursued trade and economic policies that put the American economy, the American worker, and 

our national security first. This spurred an American revitalization marked 

by stable supply chains, massive economic growth, historically low inflation, 

a substantial increase in real wages and real median household wealth, 

and a path toward eliminating destructive trade deficits. 

My Administration treated trade policy as a critical component to national 

security and reduced our Nation’s dependence on other countries to meet 

our key security needs. 

Americans benefit from and deserve an America First trade policy. Therefore, 

I am establishing a robust and reinvigorated trade policy that promotes 

investment and productivity, enhances our Nation’s industrial and technological advantages, defends our economic and national security, and—above 

all—benefits American workers, manufacturers, farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, and businesses. 

Sec. 2. Addressing Unfair and Unbalanced Trade. (a) The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the United 

States Trade Representative, shall investigate the causes of our country’s 

large and persistent annual trade deficits in goods, as well as the economic 

and national security implications and risks resulting from such deficits, 

and recommend appropriate measures, such as a global supplemental tariff 

or other policies, to remedy such deficits. 

(b) The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary 

of Commerce and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall investigate 

the feasibility of establishing and recommend the best methods for designing, 

building, and implementing an External Revenue Service (ERS) to collect 

tariffs, duties, and other foreign trade-related revenues. 

(c) The United States Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Senior Counselor 

for Trade and Manufacturing, shall undertake a review of, and identify, 

any unfair trade practices by other countries and recommend appropriate 

actions to remedy such practices under applicable authorities, including, 

but not limited to, the Constitution of the United States; sections 71 through 

75 of title 15, United States Code; sections 1337, 1338, 2252, 2253, and 

2411 of title 19, United States Code; section 1701 of title 50, United States 

Code; and trade agreement implementing acts. 

(d) The United States Trade Representative shall commence the public 

consultation process set out in section 4611(b) of title 19, United States 

Code, with respect to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) 

in preparation for the July 2026 review of the USMCA. Additionally, the 

United States Trade Representative, in consultation with the heads of other 

relevant executive departments and agencies, shall assess the impact of 


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the USMCA on American workers, farmers, ranchers, service providers, and 

other businesses and make recommendations regarding the United States’ 

participation in the agreement. The United States Trade Representative shall 

also report to appropriate congressional committees on the operation of 

the USMCA and related matters consistent with section 4611(b) of title 

19, United States Code. 

(e) The Secretary of the Treasury shall review and assess the policies 

and practices of major United States trading partners with respect to the 

rate of exchange between their currencies and the United States dollar 

pursuant to section 4421 of title 19, United States Code, and section 5305 

of title 22, United States Code. The Secretary of the Treasury shall recommend appropriate measures to counter currency manipulation or misalignment that prevents effective balance of payments adjustments or that provides 

trading partners with an unfair competitive advantage in international trade, 

and shall identify any countries that he believes should be designated as 

currency manipulators. 

(f) The United States Trade Representative shall review existing United 

States trade agreements and sectoral trade agreements and recommend any 

revisions that may be necessary or appropriate to achieve or maintain the 

general level of reciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions with 

respect to free trade agreement partner countries. 

(g) The United States Trade Representative shall identify countries with 

which the United States can negotiate agreements on a bilateral or sectorspecific basis to obtain export market access for American workers, farmers, 

ranchers, service providers, and other businesses and shall make recommendations regarding such potential agreements. 

(h) The Secretary of Commerce shall review policies and regulations regarding the application of antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) laws, 

including with regard to transnational subsidies, cost adjustments, affiliations, and ‘‘zeroing.’’ Further, the Secretary of Commerce shall review 

procedures for conducting verifications pursuant to section 1677m of title 

19, United States Code, and assess whether these procedures sufficiently 

induce compliance by foreign respondents and governments involved in 

AD/CVD proceedings. The Secretary of Commerce shall consider modifications to these procedures, as appropriate. 

(i) The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary 

of Homeland Security, and the Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing, in consultation with the United States Trade Representative, shall 

assess the loss of tariff revenues and the risks from importing counterfeit 

products and contraband drugs, e.g., fentanyl, that each result from the 

current implementation of the $800 or less, duty-free de minimis exemption 

under section 1321 of title 19, United States Code, and shall recommend 

modifications as warranted to protect both the revenue of the United States 

and the public health by preventing unlawful importations. 

(j) The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of 

Commerce and the United States Trade Representative, shall investigate 

whether any foreign country subjects United States citizens or corporations 

to discriminatory or extraterritorial taxes pursuant to section 891 of title 

26, United States Code. 

(k) The United States Trade Representative, in consultation with the Senior 

Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing, shall review the impact of all trade 

agreements—including the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement—on the volume of Federal procurement covered by Executive Order 13788 of April 18, 2017 (Buy American and Hire American), 

and shall make recommendations to ensure that such agreements are being 

implemented in a manner that favors domestic workers and manufacturers, 

not foreign nations. 

Sec. 3. Economic and Trade Relations with the People’s Republic of China 

(PRC). (a) The United States Trade Representative shall review the Economic 


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and Trade Agreement Between the Government of the United States of 

America and the Government of the People’s Republic of China to determine 

whether the PRC is acting in accordance with this agreement, and shall 

recommend appropriate actions to be taken based upon the findings of 

this review, up to and including the imposition of tariffs or other measures 

as needed. 

(b) The United States Trade Representative shall assess the May 14, 2024, 

report entitled ‘‘Four-Year Review of Actions Taken in the Section 301 

Investigation: China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology 

Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation’’ and consider potential additional tariff modifications as needed under section 2411 of title 19, United 

States Code—particularly with respect to industrial supply chains and circumvention through third countries, including an updated estimate of the 

costs imposed by any unfair trade practices identified in such review— 

and he shall recommend such actions as are necessary to remediate any 

issues identified in connection with this process. 

(c) The United States Trade Representative shall investigate other acts, 

policies, and practices by the PRC that may be unreasonable or discriminatory 

and that may burden or restrict United States commerce, and shall make 

recommendations regarding appropriate responsive actions, including, but 

not limited to, actions authorized by section 2411 of title 19, United States 

Code. 

(d) The Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative 

shall assess legislative proposals regarding Permanent Normal Trade Relations 

with the PRC and make recommendations regarding any proposed changes 

to such legislative proposals. 

(e) The Secretary of Commerce shall assess the status of United States 

intellectual property rights such as patents, copyrights, and trademarks conferred upon PRC persons, and shall make recommendations to ensure reciprocal and balanced treatment of intellectual property rights with the PRC. 

Sec. 4. Additional Economic Security Matters. (a) The Secretary of Commerce, 

in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the heads of any other 

relevant agencies, shall conduct a full economic and security review of 

the United States’ industrial and manufacturing base to assess whether it 

is necessary to initiate investigations to adjust imports that threaten the 

national security of the United States under section 1862 of title 19, United 

States Code. 

(b) The Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, in consultation 

with the Secretary of Commerce, the United States Trade Representative, 

and the Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing, shall review and 

assess the effectiveness of the exclusions, exemptions, and other import 

adjustment measures on steel and aluminum under section 1862 of title 

19, United States Code, in responding to threats to the national security 

of the United States, and shall make recommendations based upon the 

findings of this review. 

(c) The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce, in cooperation 

with the heads of other agencies with export control authorities, shall review 

the United States export control system and advise on modifications in 

light of developments involving strategic adversaries or geopolitical rivals 

as well as all other relevant national security and global considerations. 

Specifically, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce shall 

assess and make recommendations regarding how to maintain, obtain, and 

enhance our Nation’s technological edge and how to identify and eliminate 

loopholes in existing export controls—especially those that enable the transfer 

of strategic goods, software, services, and technology to countries to strategic 

rivals and their proxies. In addition, they shall assess and make recommendations regarding export control enforcement policies and practices, and enforcement mechanisms to incentivize compliance by foreign countries, including appropriate trade and national security measures. 


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(d) The Secretary of Commerce shall review and recommend appropriate 

action with respect to the rulemaking by the Office of Information and 

Communication Technology and Services (ICTS) on connected vehicles, and 

shall consider whether controls on ICTS transactions should be expanded 

to account for additional connected products. 

(e) The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of 

Commerce and, as appropriate, the heads of any other relevant agencies, 

shall review whether Executive Order 14105 of August 9, 2023 (Addressing 

United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and 

Products in Countries of Concern) should be modified or rescinded and 

replaced, and assess whether the final rule entitled ‘‘Provisions Pertaining 

to U.S. Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products 

in Countries of Concern,’’ 89 FR 90398 (November 15, 2024), which implements Executive Order 14105, includes sufficient controls to address national 

security threats. The Secretary of the Treasury shall make recommendations 

based upon the findings of this review, including potential modifications 

to the Outbound Investment Security Program. 

(f) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall assess 

any distorting impact of foreign government financial contributions or subsidies on United States Federal procurement programs and propose guidance, 

regulations, or legislation to combat such distortion. 

(g) The Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Homeland Security 

shall assess the unlawful migration and fentanyl flows from Canada, Mexico, 

the PRC, and any other relevant jurisdictions and recommend appropriate 

trade and national security measures to resolve that emergency. 

Sec. 5. Reports. The results of the reviews and investigations, findings, 

identifications, and recommendations identified in: 

(a) sections 2(a), 2(h), 3(d), 3(e), 4(a), 4(b), 4(c), 4(d), and 4(g) shall be 

delivered to me in a unified report coordinated by the Secretary of Commerce 

by April 1, 2025; 

(b) sections 2(b), 2(e), 2(i), 2(j), and 4(e) shall be delivered to me in 

a unified report coordinated by the Secretary of the Treasury by April 

1, 2025; 

(c) sections 2(c), 2(d), 2(f), 2(g), 2(k), 3(a), 3(b), and 3(c) shall be delivered 

to me in a unified report coordinated by the United States Trade Representative by April 1, 2025; and 

(d) section 4(f) shall be delivered to me by the Director of the Office 

of Management and Budget by April 30, 2025. 

Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this memorandum 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 memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable 

law and subject to the availability of appropriations. 


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(c) This memorandum 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. 

THE WHITE HOUSE, 

Washington, January 20, 2025 

[FR Doc. 2025–02032 

Filed 1–29–25; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3395–F4–P 


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