Executive Order 13959 is a
U.S. Presidential Executive Order
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...
signed on November 12, 2020, by President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
. Its title, and stated goal, is "Addressing the Threat From Securities Investments That Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies."
It is essentially no longer in force since its first five paragraphs, the key substantive provisions, were superseded by
Executive Order 14032 ("Addressing the Threat From Securities Investments That Finance Certain Companies of the People's Republic of China"), signed by
President Biden on June 3, 2021. The national emergency declared by E.O. 13959 remains in effect, however, and was expanded by E.O. 14032.
Prohibiting investment in "Communist Chinese military companies"
The executive order prohibits all U.S. investors (
institutional
Institutions are humanly devised structures of rules and norms that shape and constrain individual behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions a ...
and retail investors alike) from purchasing or investing in securities of companies identified by the U.S. government as "Communist Chinese military companies". A "Communist Chinese military company" is any company that the
U.S. Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...
has identified pursuant to Section 1237 of the
National Defense Authorization Act
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is the name for each of a series of United States federal laws specifying the annual budget and expenditures of the U.S. Department of Defense. The first NDAA was passed in 1961. The U.S. Congress o ...
for Fiscal Year 1999. The prohibition came into effect on January 11, 2021.
On December 28, 2020, guidance on the executive order was published clarifying that the order included subsidiaries of the relevant companies. On January 13, 2021, President Trump strengthened the executive order's requirements by issuing Executive Order 13974 ("Amending Executive Order 13959—Addressing the Threat From Securities Investments That Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies"), which mandated
divestment by November 11, 2021.
List of affected companies
Initially, 31 companies were identified, including two companies whose
shares were traded on U.S. exchanges. These include companies in
aerospace
Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astr ...
,
shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...
,
construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form Physical object, objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Pr ...
,
technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...
and
communication
Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...
industries.
On December 3, 2020, the
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
designated four additional companies as owned or controlled by the Chinese military, taking the total number of affected companies to 35.
On January 14, 2021, the Department of Defense designated nine additional companies as owned or controlled by the Chinese military, taking the total number of affected companies to 44.
Delistings
As a consequence of the executive order, the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...
in January ended trading of shares in China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom, and announced in late February that trading in CNOOC would also cease on March 9, 2021.
See also
*
Executive Order 14032
References
{{reflist
Executive orders of Donald Trump
China–United States relations
United States sanctions
Sanctions against China
Geopolitical rivalry