President Trump signed a pair of executive orders on Wednesday that will improve customs enforcement and bring additional accountability to the federal workforce.
Breitbart reported on the signing of the orders in the Oval Office, where President Trump was joined by Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing Peter Navarro, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, and federal staffers. According to the White House, the orders will focus on three aspects: restoring accountability to the federal workforce, fixing a broken system, and dismantling the deep state to free Washington from corruption.
The first order President Trump signed focuses on implementing stricter rules for importers, which will include:
- increasing bonding requirements and requiring IORs to maintain at all times a minimum level of tangible domestic assets
- imposing a “good standing” requirement on all IORs
- authorizing only U.S. IORs to file informal entry
According to Scott, this order will project American industry. Breitbart reported that he said, “Different countries and different people are undercutting our import-export rules, the tariffs to literally undermine American businesses, and we’re going to put a stop to it in the same way.’
He added, “We’re going to start holding trade accountable for bringing threatening things and threatening products into our country, just like we have on the rest of the border.”
The order will also strengthen border control. Navarro explained, “What we’re going to do here, the EO you’re going to sign, that’s about a $20-$30 billion a year EO you’re going to get because we are going to crack down… on fentanyl, we’re going to crack down on the unhealthy products, the counterfeits, and all of the tariff evaders.”
The second order President Trump signed will include “rules to improve Federal employee performance appraisals, expedite removals for serious misconduct, and streamline the cumbersome reduction-in-force process.” This order will essentially treat federal employees like those in the private sector. Hiring can be based on merit, but if employees mess up, the firing process is much faster, making it easier for federal agencies to deliver service to the American people.
