Trade, tariffs and industry

Executive Order 12850: Conditions for Renewal of Most-Favored-Nation Status for the People's Republic of China in 1994

President: Bill Clinton

Set human-rights and other conditions for the Secretary of State’s 1994 recommendation on China’s most-favored-nation trade status; that decision period ended.

Status: Completed/expired. Is Executive Order 12850 still in effect? No. Executive Order 12850 is completed or expired. See Federal Register record.

What does Executive Order 12850 do?

EO 12850 continued a statutory trade waiver for China for twelve months and set the review framework for the next extension beginning in July 1994. The Secretary of State was to recommend whether to extend the waiver after evaluating emigration requirements, a prison-labor agreement, overall human-rights progress and specified nonproliferation and trade concerns. The order governed that 1994 decision cycle and is not a continuing annual condition.

Administration position: The order linked the next trade-status recommendation to stated human-rights, nonproliferation and trade criteria. Those conditions expressed the administration’s 1993 policy choice.
SignedMay 28, 1993
Immediate effectTwelve-month waiver continuation
Lead officialSecretary of State

Before and after

Before the order

China’s trade treatment depended on a recurring statutory waiver and presidential recommendation process.

After the order

The 1994 review had express conditions and assessment factors; later policy and legislation changed the trade relationship.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
PresidentContinue the existing waiverFor the next twelve months
Secretary of StateAssess the specified conditions and factorsBefore the 1994 recommendation
Secretary of StateRecommend whether to extend the waiver beginning July 3, 1994During the 1994 review

What happened next

EO 12850 signed.

The President announced the 1994 renewal decision and a change in policy.

The next statutory waiver period began.