Foreign policy and sanctions

Executive Order 13609: Promoting International Regulatory Cooperation

President: Barack Obama

Directed agencies to consider compatible regulatory approaches with trading partners while protecting US safeguards.

Status: In effect. Is Executive Order 13609 still in effect? Yes. Executive Order 13609 remains operative: the Federal Register records no revocation, and NHTSA applied its international regulatory cooperation requirements in a final rule published on June 3, 2026. Sources: Federal Register 2012 executive order disposition table, EO 13609; Signed Executive Order 13609; NHTSA final rule, June 3, 2026, applying Executive Order 13609.

What does Executive Order 13609 do?

EO 13609 linked domestic regulatory planning with international cooperation. It created an OIRA-led working group and asked agencies to flag rules with significant international effects, explain cooperation in regulatory plans and consider avoiding unnecessary differences with major trading partners. The order remains unrevoked and agencies still analyze rules under it, although current regulatory and trade priorities are shaped by later presidential orders.

Administration position: The order does not require the United States to copy foreign rules or lower health, safety, environmental or consumer protections.
SignedMay 1, 2012
LeadOIRA Administrator
CoverageExecutive agencies subject to regulatory planning

Before and after

Before the order

Regulatory plans did not consistently identify international impacts or cooperation activities.

After the order

Agencies were directed to integrate agreed cooperation and trade effects into planning and retrospective review.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
OIRA-led working groupCoordinate international regulatory cooperationContinuing framework
AgenciesIdentify international impacts and consider compatible approachesContinuing
USTR and partner agenciesConnect cooperation with trade obligationsContinuing

What happened next

EO 13609 issued.

NHTSA published a final rule applying Executive Order 13609’s international regulatory cooperation analysis. Official source.