Letter to Ms. Harrison pursuant to USTR documents under FOIA

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), representing itself and three other environmental organizations, submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on December 19, 2003. The request seeks the disclosure of environmental chapters and related provisions from bilateral or regional free trade agreement negotiations conducted since the beginning of 2003.

• CIEL and its partners requested all environmental chapters or provisions provided to or received from negotiating partners for bilateral or regional free trade agreements since the start of 2003. Specifically mentioned agreements include those involving Morocco, Columbia, Australia, and Central America.
• The request extends beyond the main text to include all supporting materials that are integral to or complement the environmental portions of the agreements, such as side letters, memoranda of understanding, annexes, reservations, and schedules.
• The requesting organizations—CIEL, Friends of the Earth – US, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Defenders of Wildlife—assert that the disclosure of these trade negotiation procedures will significantly enhance public understanding of the agreements and their policy implications.
• The letter demands that if any records are withheld, the USTR must provide a 'Vaughn index' detailing the specific reasons for each exemption and the consequences of releasing the information, while also requesting the release of any reasonably segregable non-exempt portions.

APA

Magraw, D. (2003). Letter to Ms. Harrison pursuant to USTR documents under FOIA. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/news/letter-to-ms-harrison-pursuant-to-ustr-documents-under-foia/

Chicago

Magraw, Daniel. Letter to Ms. Harrison pursuant to USTR documents under FOIA. Center for International Environmental Law, 2003. https://www.ciel.org/news/letter-to-ms-harrison-pursuant-to-ustr-documents-under-foia/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Magraw |first1=Daniel |title=Letter to Ms. Harrison pursuant to USTR documents under FOIA |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=19 December 2003 |url=https://www.ciel.org/news/letter-to-ms-harrison-pursuant-to-ustr-documents-under-foia/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{magraw2003letter, author = {Magraw, Daniel}, title = {{Letter to Ms. Harrison pursuant to USTR documents under FOIA}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2003}, month = dec, url = {https://www.ciel.org/news/letter-to-ms-harrison-pursuant-to-ustr-documents-under-foia/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }