Executive Order 13959: Addressing the Threat From Securities Investments That Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies
President: Donald J. Trump
Prohibited specified United States securities transactions involving companies designated as connected to China's military, with divestment and implementation rules.
Status: In effect as amended. Is Executive Order 13959 still in effect? Yes. Executive Order 13959 operates in amended form. EO 14032 of June 3, 2021 replaced and superseded sections 1–5 and the annex and revoked EO 13974; the original prohibitions are not the current rules.
What does Executive Order 13959 do?
EO 13959 declared a national emergency concerning financing of China’s military-industrial complex through American securities investment. The original order prohibited specified transactions by United States persons in publicly traded securities, derivatives and instruments providing investment exposure to designated companies. It affected individual investors, firms and funds within its definition of United States persons, rather than imposing a blanket prohibition on every transaction with a Chinese company. Official source.
The initial framework used Defense Department identifications of Communist Chinese military companies and additional Defense or Treasury determinations. Transactions involving initially listed companies were restricted from January 11, 2021; later designations had a 60-day lead time. Divestment-only transactions had separate permitted periods. Treasury could issue regulations and licenses after consultation, so the signed order must be read together with implementation guidance rather than as an unconditional ban on all disposals. Official source.
Biden’s EO 14032 substantially replaced that structure in June 2021 while continuing and expanding the emergency. The replacement covered defense-related and surveillance-technology sectors and moved the central designation function to Treasury. It set new restrictions beginning August 2, 2021 for its annex and allowed divestment before June 3, 2022. Those dates describe the replacement text; quoting the original January 2021 dates as current trading permissions would be misleading. Official source.
Before and after
Before the order
Before the order, a Defense designation under section 1237 did not by itself create this presidential securities prohibition. EO 13959 connected the identified threat and company lists to IEEPA transaction restrictions. Its definition reached United States citizens, permanent residents, United States-organized entities including foreign branches, and persons within the United States. Official source.
After the order
Investors acquired compliance obligations around covered securities and designated entities, with anti-evasion and anti-conspiracy provisions. EO 13974 amended the original rules in January 2021. EO 14032 then replaced the substantive sections and annex, renumbered remaining provisions and expressly revoked EO 13974. The order’s continuing amended status therefore differs from either full revocation or uninterrupted operation of the original list and divestment timetable. Official source.
EO 14032 expressly superseded in part this order.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Treasury Secretary | Implement restrictions, issue rules and licenses, and make permitted company determinations; the 2021 replacement places central sector-based designation and removal authority here. | Original initial restriction January 11, 2021; replacement initial restriction August 2, 2021. |
| Defense Secretary | Under original text, identify covered military companies and consult on Treasury actions; under replacement text, consult where Treasury considers appropriate. | Later original listings triggered restrictions after 60 days. |
| State Secretary | Consult on Treasury implementation, licensing and emergency reporting; consultation remains in the replacement text. | Before relevant Treasury action; recurring statutory reports. |
| Director of National Intelligence | Consult on Treasury’s original implementation and licensing decisions. | Before original licensing decisions; duties changed by the 2021 replacement. |
| All executive departments and agencies | Take appropriate implementation measures within their authority; rescind measures enforcing replaced provisions as directed by EO 14032. | Upon applicable implementation and replacement; no separate deadline. |
| Treasury Secretary, consulting State and where appropriate Defense | Submit recurring and final emergency reports to Congress under the cited emergency statutes. | Statutory reporting schedule. |
What happened next
EO 13959 declares the emergency and sets the original securities restrictions. Official source
EO 13974 amends the original order. Official source
EO 14032 replaces the substantive prohibitions and annex and revokes EO 13974. Official source
Restrictions for entities in the replacement annex take effect under EO 14032. Official source
Legal and source detail
Sources by type
The authority is IEEPA, the National Emergencies Act and 3 U.S.C. 301. The original order also references Defense’s section 1237 listing statute and the Securities Exchange Act definition of securities. Restrictions depend on the covered instruments, persons and designated companies, with statutory exceptions and Treasury authorizations possible. The replacement order is explicit about superseding sections, so the legal analysis must distinguish surviving emergency authority from obsolete operative language rather than treating an amendment as a wholly separate, unrelated program. Official source.
Primary and official sources
- EO 13974 — amended by (opens in a new tab) Order text
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on September 24, 2026. How we research →
Later primary evidence reviewed September 24, 2026: EO 13974 expressly amended this order. EO 14032 expressly superseded in part this order. Official source 1 · Official source 2. The cited steps do not establish every downstream effect.