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Regulatory Rundown: Jan. 20 - Feb. 03
UPDATE, Feb. 4 | President Trump has confirmed a delay of Canadian and Mexican tariffs for 30 days, with leaders of the countries agreeing to work together to achieve progress on problems at the borders, including the flow of fentanyl and migrants. Follow NSBA as we continue tracking development of tariffs and executive orders from Washington.
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Executive Order Edition: The first two weeks of President Trump’s second term have seen a flurry of executive orders. Here’s what small businesses need to know:
Funding Freeze. On Jan. 27, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo imposing a federal funding freeze that was abruptly withdrawn after backlash. The freeze now faces a legal challenge, with a federal judge ruling that states challenging the freeze are likely to succeed and determining that the impact of the freeze remains unsettled and requires judicial review.
The initial OMB memo required federal agencies “to identify and review all federal financial assistance programs and supporting activities consistent with the President’s policy and requirements” and, by Feb. 10, to pause issuance of new awards, disbursement of federal funds under all open awards, and other relevant agency actions that may be implicated by Trump’s executive orders pending OMB review and guidance.
More information on the legal challenge to the funding freeze is available here.
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Tariffs and Trade. On Feb. 1, the White House announced a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% additional tariff on imports from China.
Following the White House announcement, on Feb. 3, President Trump announced he would delay for a month tariffs on Mexican goods.
Additionally, on Jan. 20, President Trump signed an executive order requiring a variety of reports and recommendations to be delivered to him by April 1 on issues including the establishment of an External Revenue Service, the de minimis exemption, the impact of trade agreements on federal procurement, China’s treatment of intellectual property rights, among other things.
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Deregulation. On Jan. 31, President Trump signed an executive order requiring that whenever an agency promulgates a new rule, regulation, or guidance, it must identify at least 10 existing rules, regulations, or guidance documents to be repealed. The first Trump administration achieved the goal of eliminating two regulations for each one new regulation issued. According to the White House, not only was the 2-for-1 goal achieved, but in the first administration, five and a half regulations were eliminated for every one new regulation issued.
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DEI. On Jan. 21, President Trump signed an executive order eliminating most affirmative action programs for government contractors and requiring contractors to certify that they are not operating any DEI program that violates federal anti-discrimination laws. The order does not clarify what DEI programs violate such anti-discrimination laws.
