Hours after taking oath as the 47th US President, Donald Trump on January 20 signed a slew of executive orders. Among the crucial ones are those aimed at asserting control of the federal workforce, withdrawing from the Paris climate treaty and ending the work-from-home culture.
These are the key executive orders signed by Trump:
Halting 78 Biden-era executive actions
Trump signed as many as 80 executive orders to reverse actions taken by the Joe Biden administration. "We will sign executive orders first to revoke nearly 80 'destructive' and 'radical' executive actions of the previous administration," he said.
Return to full-time in-person work
One of the first executive orders that the US President signed was to end work from home for federal employees. The move followed Trump's pledge to end the work-from-home (WFH) culture that became common during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Freeze on federal hirings
Trump ordered a federal hiring freeze on his first day back in office, mirroring an action he took at the start of his first term to try to reduce the size of government. Signing the executive order instituting a temporary hiring freeze, Trump said, it is "to ensure that we're only hiring competent people who are faithful to the American public."
The order includes exceptions for posts related to national security and public safety, as well as the military.
Withdrawal from Paris climate treaty
Trump signed an order to pull out the United States - a top carbon polluting nation - from the Paris climate agreement. The US President also signed a letter to the United Nations indicating his intention to withdraw from the 2015 agreement. The withdrawal process from the Paris accord takes one year.
Restoring freedom of speech
Trump issued directives to ensure that federal agencies could not stifle free expression to counter perceived government censorship. According to him, these actions are necessary to rebuild public confidence in institutions.
"Over the last 4 years, the previous administration trampled free speech rights by censoring Americans' speech on online platforms, often by exerting substantial coercive pressure on third parties, such as social media companies, to moderate, de-platform, or otherwise suppress speech that the Federal Government did not approve," the White House said.
Crackdown on illegal immigration
The US President also signed several executive orders related to immigration, including declaring a “national emergency” along the southern border with Mexico, designating criminal cartels as terrorist organisations, and targeting automatic birthright citizenship for US.-born children of immigrants in the country illegally
"All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came," Trump said, adding that he would order the deployment of troops along the border with immediate effect.
Withdrawal from WHO
The United States will exit the World Health Organization (WHO), said Trump. According to him, the global health agency had mishandled the Covid-19 pandemic and other international health crises.
Inflation
Trump ordered the heads of all executive departments and agencies to deliver emergency price relief to the American people and increase the prosperity of the American worker. Measures include cutting regulations and climate policies that raise costs and prescribe actions to lower the cost of housing and expand housing supply.
TikTok ban
Trump temporarily halted a ban on TikTok in the US, granting the company and its Chinese parent ByteDance Ltd. 75-day extra time to reach a deal for the popular app that would resolve long-standing US national security concerns.
EV target
Trump revoked a 2021 executive order signed by Biden that sought to ensure half of all new vehicles sold in the United States by 2030 were electric.
Trump said he was halting distribution of unspent government funds for vehicle charging stations from a $5 billion fund, called for ending a waiver for states to adopt zero emission vehicle rules by 2035 and said his administration would consider ending EV tax credits.
OECD tax deal
Trump signed an executive action declaring that the global minimum corporate tax deal supported by the Biden administration and negotiated with more than 100 other countries has “no force or effect” within the U.S. barring an act of Congress adopting the deal.
Government efficiency
Trump signed an executive action to create an advisory group called the Department of Government Efficiency aimed at carrying out dramatic cuts to the US government, attracting immediate lawsuits challenging its operations. The group - dubbed “DOGE” - is being run by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Pardons
Trump issued roughly 1,500 pardons and commuted the sentences of 14 of his supporters in connection with the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, when thousands of them stormed the building amid his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him.
Oil from Venezuela
The US is “probably” going to stop purchasing oil from Venezuela, Trump said. “We don’t have to buy their oil, we have plenty of oil,” Trump he said during remarks to reporters at the Oval Office.
Sanctions on Israeli settlers in West Bank
Trump has rescinded sanctions imposed by the former Biden administration on far-right Israeli settler groups and individuals accused of being involved in violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, the new White House website said. The move reverses Biden's administration decision to slap sanctions on numerous Israeli settler individuals and entities, freezing their US assets and generally barring Americans from dealing with them.
Brics nation
Trump reiterated his threat towards the BRICS nations stating that countries that are part of this organisation would face 100 per cent tariffs on trade with the US if they continue their de-dollarisation efforts.
China tariffs
Trump held off unveiling China-specific tariffs on his first day in office, instead ordering his administration to address unfair trade practices globally and investigate whether Beijing had complied with a deal signed during his first term.
Canada and Mexico tariffs
Trump said he expects to put 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting on February 1. Mexico and Canada are two of America’s top three trade partners. Last year, the US imported $475 billion worth of goods from Mexico and $418 billion from Canada, collectively accounting for 30% of the value of all the goods the US exported last year, according to federal trade data.
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