FOIA Request
| Tracking # |
FY18-68 |
| Submitted | Feb. 1, 2018 |
| Est. Completion | March 6, 2018 |
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Communications
From: Matt Kasper
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:
1. Any and all internal and external electronic communication and attachments of Robert Lighthizer, Willis Martyn, Bradford Ward, Payne Griffin, Stephen Vaughn, Terrence McCartin, Christopher Jackson, Jamieson Greer, pertaining to the topic of safeguard tariffs on imported solar cells and modules that the USTR recommended to President Trump, excluding press clips. This request is limited to the timeframe of October 25, 2017 through the processing date of this request.
2. Any and all internal and external analysis, reports, research papers, memos reviewed and/or authored by representatives of the Office of Policy Coordination, representatives of the Trade Policy Staff Committee, regarding tariffs on imported solar cells and modules that was recommended to President Trump.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes. It is in the public's interest to know the USTR's role regarding their recommendations to President Trump.
On January 22, 2018, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced that President Trump approved recommendations to impose tariffs on imported solar cells and modules. The press release on the date of the announcement stated, "USTR made the recommendations to the President based on consultations with the interagency Trade Policy Committee (TPC) in response to findings by the independent, bipartisan U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) that increased foreign imports of washers and solar cells and modules are a substantial cause of serious injury to domestic manufacturers." Ambassador Lighthizer said, "Upon receiving these recommendations, my staff and I conducted an exhaustive process which included opportunities to brief in person and through public comments, public hearings, and meetings with senior representatives. Based on this information, the Trade Policy Committee developed recommendations, which the President has accepted."
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
However, I am requesting a fee waiver. The organization I work for, the Energy and Policy Institute, is a clearinghouse of information and can qualify as a representative of the news media. There are several examples of public record requests that have been provided to my organization and that were then published on our website to inform journalists publishing articles.
Additionally, previously FOIAs from the Energy and Policy Institute to federal government agencies have been categorized under Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 1004.9(b)(3) as a "news media" requester.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Matt Kasper
Energy and Policy Institute
From: U.S. Trade Representative
Mr. Kasper,
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) received your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated February 1, 2018 and assigned it tracking number FY18-68. Please cite this number in any future communications with our office regarding your request.
We are unable to begin processing your request at this time because we cannot determine precisely which records you are seeking. If you are still interested, we will need you to provide us with more specific information to describe the records sought so that they can be located with a reasonable amount of effort (15 CFR 2004.3(b)), e.g., with whom were the named USTR employees communicating. Please include contact information, preferably email addresses. Your request is also overly broad. The Trade Policy Staff Committee, for example, has representatives from more than 20 agencies represented.
Given the breadth of the request as well as the individuals' positions, it is highly likely that the responsive documents are exempt from mandatory disclosure under FOIA. In particular, the documents are likely to be exempt under FOIA Exemption 5, as being covered by the deliberative process privilege. As a result, the process of USTR conducting a search for documents that are potentially responsive to this overly broad request, and conducting a review of the potentially responsive documents to determine which materials are responsive and exempt from mandatory disclosure (and, in the case of the exempt materials, conducting a further review to determine which materials are appropriate for discretionary release), and coordinating and consulting with other affected offices (outside of USTR) that have a potential interest in such documents, will likely be very time-consuming and overly burdensome.
Accordingly, unless you are able to narrow this request to external communications and analysis and provide names and contact information for external stakeholders, we will administratively close this request within 30 calendar days from the date of this email (15 CFR 2004.3(d)). We cannot proceed further with your request until we receive additional written clarification from you.
If you have any questions or would like help refining your search, please contact me or my colleague Melissa Keppel at FOIA@ustr.eop.gov or 202-395-3419.
Thank you,
Monique
Monique T. Ricker
FOIA Program Manager/Attorney
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
WASHINGTON DC 20508
From: Matt Kasper
Hi Monique,
Thanks for the email. I'm happy to narrow my request. How's this?
1. Any final reports authored by representatives of USTR that specifically pertain to employment impacts as a result of implementing tariffs on imported solar cells and modules, which the USTR recommended to President Trump.
Best,
Matt
From: U.S. Trade Representative
Hi Matt,
Thank you for narrowing your request. We will focus our search on the impact of tariffs imposed on imported solar cells and modules on employment. In addition to searching the records of Robert Lighthizer, Willis Martyn, Bradford Ward, Payne Griffin, Stephen Vaughn, Terrence McCartin, Christopher Jackson, and Jamieson Greer, we will include Ed Gresser who is the Assistant US Trade Representative who manages the Trade Policy Staff Committee interagency process.
Unless we hear otherwise, we will initiate your search today and provide you with a determination on or before March 6, 2018.
Thank you,
Monique
Monique T. Ricker
FOIA Program Manager/Attorney
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
WASHINGTON DC 20508
From: Matt Kasper
Great, thank you for the help.
From: U.S. Trade Representative
Matt,
We are in the process of reviewing the results from the search for "final reports authored by representatives of USTR that specifically pertain to employment impacts as a result of implementing tariffs on imported solar cells and modules, which the USTR recommended to President Trump." I will provide you with an update on our progress by March 20, 2018.
If you have any questions or wish to discuss reformulation or an alternative time frame for your search, please contact me or my colleague Melissa Keppel at FOIA@ustr.eop.gov or 202-395-3419. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at 202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at 202-741-5769.
Thank you,
Monique
Monique T. Ricker
FOIA Program Manager/Attorney
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
WASHINGTON DC 20508
From: U.S. Trade Representative
Matt,
Per my email dated March 5, 2018, I promised you a status update by March 20th. We are still reviewing the results in response to your FOIA request. Because your search involves a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records (more than 3,800 results in response to your search), we will need more time to process due to "unusual circumstances."
The option to narrow the scope of your request is still available. Please feel free to contact me or my colleague Melissa Keppel at FOIA@ustr.eop.gov or 202-395-3419. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at 202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at 202-741-5769.
We will keep you posted on our progress.
Thank you,
Monique
Monique T. Ricker
FOIA Program Manager/Attorney
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
WASHINGTON DC 20508
From: U.S. Trade Representative
Matt,
This email is the final response of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) No. FY18-68 submitted on February 1, 2018 and modified on February 6, 2018 requesting "final reports authored by representatives of USTR that specifically pertain to employment impacts as a result of implementing tariffs on imported solar cells and modules, which the USTR recommended to President Trump." Per our email dated February 7, 2018, we searched the records of Robert Lighthizer, Willis Martyn, Bradford Ward, Payne Griffin, Stephen Vaughn, Terrence McCartin, Christopher Jackson, Jamieson Greer, and Ed Gresser.
After a search of their files, we did not locate records responsive to your request.
This constitutes a complete response to your request. You may contact me or my colleague Melissa Keppel at FOIA@ustr.eop.gov or 202-395-3419 for further assistance and to discuss any aspect of your request. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001, e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at 202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at 202-741-5769.
If you are not satisfied with the response to this request, you may also administratively appeal by writing to: FOIA Office, ATTN: Janice Kaye, Office of the US Trade Representative, Anacostia Naval Annex, Bldg. 410/Door 123, 250 Murray Lane, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20509.
Your appeal must be postmarked or electronically transmitted within 90 days of the date of the response to your request. Both the letter and the envelope should be clearly marked: "Freedom of Information Act Appeal" and should include a reference to the FOIA Case File number listed above. Heightened security in force may delay mail delivery; therefore we suggest that you also email any such appeal to foia@ustr.eop.gov.
In the event you are dissatisfied with the results of any such appeal, judicial review will thereafter be available to you in the United States District Court for the judicial district in which you reside or have your principal place of business, or in the District of Columbia, where we searched for the records you requested.
Thank you,
Monique
Monique T. Ricker
FOIA Program Manager/Attorney
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
WASHINGTON DC 20508
From: Matt Kasper
Hi Monique,
Sorry I missed your call yesterday. Are you able to speak tomorrow, Friday April 13, at 12ET/11CT?
Thanks,
Matt
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 1, 2018. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on March 6, 2018. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date. You had assigned it reference number #FY18-68.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: U.S. Trade Representative
Matt,
If you scroll down to the email dated March 27, 2018, you will see we closed this request. Our search produced no records responsive to your request. I highlighted it.
Thank you,
Monique
Monique T. Ricker
FOIA Program Manager/Attorney
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
WASHINGTON DC 20508
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