Executive Order 13558: Export Enforcement Coordination Center
President: Barack Obama
Created a central interagency hub to coordinate criminal administrative and intelligence work enforcing US export controls.
Status: In effect.
Is Executive Order 13558 still in effect? Yes. Active DHS-led E2C2 interagency task force coordinating export investigations and deconfliction.
What does Executive Order 13558 do?
EO 13558 established the Export Enforcement Coordination Center within the Department of Homeland Security for administrative purposes. The center was meant to help agencies detect and investigate possible violations of export-control laws without working at cross purposes. It was a coordination forum, not a new regulator or prosecutor. The order placed a Homeland Security official in charge, with deputy directors detailed from Commerce and Justice and an intelligence-community liaison designated by the Director of National Intelligence. State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Commerce, Energy, Homeland Security and the intelligence office were among the participating bodies. Each retained its own legal powers and could conduct investigations jointly or separately.
Before and after
Before the order
Several departments enforced or licensed exports under different statutes and programs. The order identified conflicts between investigations and gaps in information exchange as problems for a standing federal forum to address. It did not say that a single agency lacked authority to investigate export violations before the center existed.
After the order
The center was directed to identify and resolve enforcement conflicts left unsettled by agencies, pass relevant information between law-enforcement and intelligence officials, connect investigators with export-licensing agencies, coordinate public outreach and establish government-wide statistics on criminal and administrative enforcement. Homeland Security was to fund and administer the center within available appropriations; the director would set meeting agendas and organize subgroups.
A March 2012 White House fact sheet announced the center’s opening and described leadership from Homeland Security, the FBI and Commerce. It discussed a separate Information Triage Unit at Commerce for license screening. That unit should not be confused with the enforcement center created by EO 13558. Later Homeland Security documentation cited on this page concerns continued operations, but the order itself does not provide a measure of enforcement outcomes or transfer exclusive investigative power.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| DHS and HSI | Manage and fund the center | Continuing |
| Partner agencies | Share appropriate case and intelligence information | Continuing |
| Management team | Set procedures and resolve conflicts | Continuing |
What happened next
EO 13558 directed Homeland Security to establish the center.
The White House announced the center’s opening and described its multiagency leadership.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
Export Control Reform Act, Arms Export Control Act, IEEPA, privacy rules and agency statutes govern investigations and information sharing.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
- DHS — E2C2 privacy assessment (opens in a new tab) Official record
- DHS — investigative deconfliction policy (opens in a new tab) Official record
- BIS — export enforcement (opens in a new tab) Official record
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on October 1, 2026. How we research →