Executive Order

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (50 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows:

A Proclamation

The pressure of the boot on the neck of the American people has become too precise, too coordinated, and too systematic to be dismissed as mere market forces. It appears in rising household bills, shifting service terms, and the absence of meaningful explanation or recourse for working families.

For decades, we were told competition alone would protect consumers. But competition fails when common ownership and concentrated capital can influence broad sectors at once, weakening genuine market discipline and amplifying extraction from families and small businesses.

This administration has recognized concentration in critical materials as a national security risk. The threat is not only foreign; it is structural. When concentrated ownership extends from inputs to distribution, the cost of living itself becomes vulnerable to coordinated pressure.

Therefore, I declare that the concentration of economic power in institutional asset managers, and the extraction that can result from common ownership, constitutes a threat to the economic security and domestic tranquility of the United States.

Part I: Findings and Declarations

Section 1. Findings.

(a) American enterprises built on character, employee dignity, and community stewardship face continual pressure to sell into extractive ownership models.

(b) Viable alternatives exist, including perpetual purpose trusts, stewardship structures, worker-owned cooperatives, employee ownership trusts, and related mission-preserving legal forms.

(c) These structures are proven in practice, yet difficult for the public to identify at scale.

(d) The Nation lacks a public registry and certification standard that can distinguish truly mission-locked enterprises from firms designed primarily for extraction.

(e) Concentrated ownership of critical materials, including elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides, constitutes an industrial resource shortfall within the meaning of the Defense Production Act.

Part II: Creation of the Registry of Un-Acquirable Enterprises

Section 2. Establishment of Registry.

The Secretary of Commerce shall establish and maintain a public, searchable Registry of Un-Acquirable Enterprises identifying businesses legally incapable of sale to extractive capital in perpetuity.

Section 3. Eligible Enterprise Structures.

The Registry shall include, at minimum:

• Perpetual purpose trusts authorized under applicable state law.
• Steward-owned enterprises with mission-priority control structures.
• Worker-owned cooperatives with anti-conversion protections.
• Employee ownership trusts and ESOP-based perpetual employee structures.
• Nonprofit industrial operators with anti-conversion commitments.
• Other structures certified as permanently non-extractive by the Secretary of Commerce.

Section 4. Certification Standards.

In consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, the Secretary of Commerce shall issue regulations requiring:

• Perpetual duration in compliant jurisdictions.
• Enforceable anti-acquisition provisions.
• Designated trust enforcer, protector, or equivalent legal standing.
• Mission permanence not alterable through ordinary governance.
• Annual certification and public disclosure of governing documents.

Section 5. Certification Pathways.

Certification pathways shall be established for new enterprises, conversions, spin-offs, and successions.

Part III: Support for Mission-Locked Enterprises

Section 6. Technical Assistance Program.

The Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall establish a technical assistance program to:

• Provide model legal documents for mission-locked structures.
• Maintain a public directory of qualified advisors.
• Conduct workshops and webinars for founders and family businesses.
• Partner with educational and professional institutions to expand practitioner capacity.

Section 7. Implementation and Funding.

The Secretary of Commerce and SBA Administrator shall implement this order consistent with applicable law and available appropriations, including authority to receive gifts, grants, donations, and bequests for this purpose.

Part IV: Defense Production Act Authorities

Section 8. Industrial Resource Shortfall Determination.

Pursuant to section 303 of the Defense Production Act (50 U.S.C. § 4533), concentration of ownership in critical materials is determined to be an industrial resource shortfall that threatens national defense capability.

Section 9. Development of Substitutes.

The Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the Secretaries of Defense and Energy, is authorized to support development of substitutes for strategic and critical materials, with preference for certified mission-locked enterprises.

Section 10. Waiver Authority.

Requirements in section 303(a)(2) through (a)(6) are waived under section 303(a)(7)(B) to avert severe industrial resource shortfall risk.

Part V: Enforcement and Oversight

Section 11. Standing for Trust Enforcers.

The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall issue guidance affirming standing for designated trust enforcers to challenge unlawful sale, merger, transfer, or dissolution efforts.

Section 12. Coordination with State Attorneys General.

The Attorney General is encouraged to coordinate with state attorneys general on enforcement, information-sharing, and model legislation.

Section 13. Federal Trade Commission Coordination.

The Federal Trade Commission is encouraged to investigate common ownership concentration, review passive investor safe harbor treatment, and provide antitrust compliance guidance to certified enterprises.

Part VI: Legislative Recommendation

Section 14. Recommendation to Congress.

Congress is recommended to codify the Registry, appropriate implementation funding, create additional protections and conversion grants, and establish tax incentives for mission-locked succession pathways.

Part VII: Implementation and Reporting

Section 15. Implementation Deadline.

Proposed regulations shall be issued within 180 days, and final regulations within one year.

Section 16. Annual Report to Congress.

Within one year and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce shall report on certifications, enterprise distribution, attempted acquisitions, and recommendations for further administrative or legislative action.

Part VIII: General Provisions

Section 17. Severability.

If any provision is held invalid, the remainder shall remain in effect.

Section 18. Revocation.

Nothing in this order revokes or modifies prior executive orders unless expressly stated.

Section 19. No Private Right of Action.

This order does not create enforceable rights or benefits against the United States, except as expressly provided in implementing legislation enacted by Congress.

Section 20. Implementation Consistent with Law.

This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and available appropriations.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of January 2029.

Signed,

Vincent Cordova
President of the United States