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Weekly UpdatesEarlier this year, Manufacturing & Technology News submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Office of the United States Trade Representative requesting a list of all the FOIA requests it had received in 2008. The list provides an indication of what people and organizations are interested in receiving from the USTR. Any American can use the Freedom of Information Act to probe agencies regarding most aspects of their operations. Here are the FOIA requests the Office of the USTR processed in 2008 and the date on which they were received.
* Harry Clark and David Bentley (12/30/08): Copies of all documents relating to the dispute between the United States and Canada concerning imports of softwood lumber from Canada into the United States.
* David Kocieniewski, New York Times (12/19/08): Copies of all correspondence between the USTR and Rep. Charles Rangel including members of his staff or the staff of the House Ways and Means Committee between January 1, 2006, and the present. Include all letters, phone messages, cables, faxes and e-mails.
* Grant Smith, Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (12/17/08): Compete report prepared by the International Trade Commission to U.S. Trade Representative William Brock in preparation for the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Agreement in 1984.
* Ben Szilagyi (12/3/08): Any material concerning HR6124 12-7(C), the "Economic Adjustment Assistance for Users of Upland Cotton"; specifically any information with regard to the WTO Upland Cotton case (DS-267), and any information about the origins of this legislation.
* Barbara Chattin (11/26/08); The names of all respondents to Job Announcement Number USTR-0826-PA, Assistant USTR for Industry, Market Access and Telecommunications who responded by the deadline for this job announcement. Plus an explanation of the procedures used to change the Office of Industry, Market Access and Telecommunications to the Office of Market Access and Industrial Competitiveness.
* Julia Greenberg (10/28/08): A copy of all USTR employee salaries.
* Sharona Coutts, Propublica (10/10/08): A list of all Senior Executive Service members of USTR from Jan. 1, 2002, until present.
* Susan Esserman, Steptoe and Johnson (10/2/08): Information designated as confidential in the 2008-11 Petition to Remove PET Resin From India submitted by the U.S. PET Resin Coalition on June 18, 2008, pursuant to the 2008 annual GSP Review; the USTR's response to petitioners' letter requesting an explanation of factors considered in denial of the 2003-3 Petition to Remove PET from India under 15 C.F.R.2007.4(B)(2).
* Harry Clark and David Benley of Dewey & LeBoeuf (9/26/08): Public filings in the case of Saltman & Stevens, p.c. v. Office of the USTR, CIV. No. 08-072 (JR). On or about Sept. 15, 2008, you released documents and a draft Vaughn index to the law firm of Saltman & Stevens in connection with its FOIA request.
* Julia Riesenberg (9/18/08): Cables, letters, faxes, email, talking points, memorandum or other documents that concern recent disputes in Chile, Guatemala, Argentina, Costa Rica, Barbados, Russia, Malaysia and New Zealand over patents and pharmaceuticals test data as related to the use of generic medicines.
* Sarah Rathke, Squire Sanders (8/12/08): All records or communications including e-mail between Bennett Harmat at the USTR and Ian Davis of Occidental Petroleum Co. concerning Occidental operations in Ecuador
* Anupama Narayanswamy, Sunlight Foundation: All logs of correspondence between members of Congress and the Office of the USTR between January 1, 2008, and June 30, 2008, including logs of all replies from the agency.
* William Kovacs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce (7/9/08): All writings, memoranda, letters, reports or other written documents that identify or describe annual budgets, budget requests and amount of appropriations received during each of the fiscal years 2006 to 2009 for the "Climate Change Technology Deployment in Developing Countries: Trade-Related Barriers to Export of Greenhouse Gas Intensity Reducing Technologies." All information that describe accomplishments pertaining to the achievement of statutory directives including the status of reports to Congress, issuance of policy guidance and rulemakings for the Climate Change Technology Deployment in Developing Countries Program under 1611 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, PL No. 109-58.
* Julia Riesenberg, Knowledge Economy International (6/27/08): Copies of comments to the USTR on ACTA made in March 2008. Documents from October 2006 to the present related to the issue of patents on medicines in Thailand. All communication between USTR and any staff members of the Whitaker Group. All documents related to the issue of patents or IP issues with the countries of South Africa, Kenya and Egypt. All information concerning communication with Jacques Gorlin or any member of the Gorlin Group.
* Harry Clark, David Bentley, Dewey & LeBoeuf (6/25/08): Copies of all FOIA requests submitted to the agency from Oct. 12, 2006, until the present that seek information about the dispute between the U.S. and Canada concerning softwood lumber from Canada into the United States.
* Julia Riesenberg, Knowledge Economy International: Documents related to the Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement negotiations including all materials received from or sent to persons not working for the U.S. government including employees of trade associations, business law firms, consulting firms and others who represent pharmaceutical, motion picture, recorded music industries, academia, nonprofit research organizations, members of the news media, members of Congress or their staffs and members of international organizations. The agenda and list of participants and contact details for the ACTA negotiations that took place in Geneva in June 2008.
* Gwen Hinze, The Electronic Frontier Foundation (6/12/08): All records including agenda, briefing notes, participant lists, presentation documents concerning USTR meetings with industry associations including but not limited to the Global Business Leaders' Alliance Against Counterfeiting, the International Trademark Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy, concerning the ACTA. All information regarding USTR meetings with officials and representatives other than the United States concerning ACTA.
* Julia Riesenberg, Knowledge Ecology International (6/12/08): Documents related to communications between the USTR and all African WHO member states that attended the 61st World Health Assembly in 2008 and the 60th World Health Assembly in 2007.
* Kevin Bogardus, The Hill Newspaper (5/29/08): A copy of all correspondence between the USTR and members of Congress and the general public from January 1, 2008, through June 1, 2008.
* Kevin Bogardus, The Hill Newspaper: Records detailing non-governmental trips disclosed as "Semiannual Reports of Payment Accepted from Non Federal Sources" Under 31 U.S.C. for the USTR starting from April 1, 2007, through June 1, 2008.
* John Burton (5/27/08): Records of correspondence between the USTR and Sen. John McCain after January 1, 2000 with regards to trade with the People's Republic of China or related to any U.S.-based companies or individuals seeking or currently doing business in China. All correspondence between Sen. John McCain and the USTR.
* Nathan McCarroll (5/27/08): All communication between Rep. Kenny Hulshof of Missouri and the USTR from January 1, 1997, to present.
* Harris Clark and David Bentley, Dewey & LeBoeuf (5/19/08): Copies of all FOIA requests submitted to the agency from October 12, 2006 until present seeking information about possession, custody or control having a relation to or bearing on the dispute between the U.S. and Canada concerning imports of softwood lumber.
* Taylor Lincoln, Public Citizen (4/17/08): Copies of all records mentioning the individuals listed below that have reported by his or her employer as having lobbied the USTR since 2004 in filings submitted to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House pursuant to the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995: Philmore Anderson, Robert Batson, Wayne Berman, Charlie Black, Judy Black, Kirk Blalock, James Blanchard, Normal Brownstein, Christine Burgeson, Alberto Cardenas, Kirsten Chadwick, Mike Driver and Adam Falkoff.
* Donald Wheeler, Turnstone Investigative Group (4/9/08): All records pertaining to the background, history and negotiations between the parties pertaining to the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, Chapter 2, "National Treatment and Market Access for Goods," Annex 2.2, Section A.
* Bryant Adams (3/25/08): All correspondence to and from Sen. Hillary Clinton from January 1, 2005, to the present; all correspondence to and from Sen. Barack Obama from January 1, 2005, to present.
* Greg Rushford, The Rushford Report (3/1/08): All correspondence USTR has received from members of Congress related to the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement and the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
* Michael Ravnitzky (2/25/08): Mandatory declassification review of the agreement with the EU, Canada and Japan in the ongoing WTO dispute over the ban on online gambling.
* Alicia McClintock, Democratic National Committee (2/12/08): All records including telephone records electronic communications between your agency and Sen. John McCain or his office or staff during the period in which he has been a U.S. senator.
* Paul Blustein, The Bookings Institution (2/12/08): A faxed letter to Amb. Robert Zoellick from Alan Holmer, then president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, during the Doha meeting sometime between Nov. 10 and Nov. 14, 2001. Documents concerning the WTO ministerial in Seattle (Nov. 30, 1999 to Dec. 4, 1999), notes or records taken in the "Green Room."
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