January 13, 2004
Honorable Robert B. Zoellick
United States Trade Representative
Room 209A
600 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20508
Subject: Enhanced Access to Information and Ability to Participate Effectively
Dear Ambassador Zoellick:
Earlier this fall organizations from a number of countries around the globe met to create a network dedicated to promoting access to information and open, transparent government. September 28 marked the first international Right to Know Day, symbolizing the global movement toward increasing the public’s right to information.
Around the world, nations are embracing open government as a way of improving government accountability, encouraging public participation in governmental and democratic decision-making, combating corruption, instilling public confidence in governmental institutions, and facilitating open markets. In over 50 countries, citizens now have legal rights to gain access to government information. Over half of these countries have adopted freedom of information laws in the last decade, and seven have done so in the last year. The Turkish Parliament is the latest to enact a Right to Information Law in October 2003, and that same month the Shanghai Municipal Government in China posted for notice and comment on its website a draft Open Government Information regulation applicable to municipal governmental entities.
The United States has, of course, been a leader in these global developments. Our Freedom of Information Act stands as a model legislative statement providing the public with judicially enforceable rights to government information subject only to narrowly construed exemptions. In recent years, the U.S. government has also been at the forefront of promoting transparency around the world. Both the Departments of State and Commerce have participated in and supported efforts to develop open government laws in countries ranging from Latin America to Eastern Europe. Only last month our government sponsored and participated in a program in Rabat, Morocco, on Regulatory Transparency, as part of the Commerce Department’s provision of technical assistance related to the Free Trade Agreement now being negotiated between the U.S. and Morocco.
It is against this backdrop that we join to support the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, the American Association of Law Libraries, and the Special Libraries Association in urging that, for all bilateral and regional trade negotiations, the Office of the United States Trade Representative:
- At least 30 days prior to the conclusion of the negotiation phase, post on USTR’s website the proposed agreement text and request through the Federal Register public comment upon it;
- Post on the USTR website all comments received in electronic format and a listing of all comments received, updated promptly as new comments arrive; and
- Post on the USTR website the text of United States negotiating proposals and any accompanying documents at the time they are submitted to other countries in the course of negotiations.
We are aware that USTR endeavors to take into consideration the diverse views of those who are interested in trade negotiations. In the past your Office has maintained an open door for stakeholders to express their views on actions that might affect domestic policies and programs, and solicitations for public comments have been made through Federal Register postings prior to the initiation of trade negotiations. Nonetheless, as a general matter the proposed texts of agreements have not been routinely made available to the public, though they have been shared on an ad hoc basis with interested parties. This not only deprives others of the advantage of access to the principal documents, but also creates the potential for appearance of favoritism or even bias in the process.
Clearly the issues addressed in trade negotiations are expanding and already touch a broad array of programs, policies, laws, and private conduct in the United States. Often groups and individuals whose interests may be affected are not knowledgeable of the intricacies of trade law, do not closely follow trade negotiating activities, and do not have the resources to become and remain insiders in the process. The best way to provide comfort and assurance to these groups and their constituencies is through providing a more transparent process at the Office of the USTR.
To the extent that the countries with whom we are negotiating might object to public disclosure, this obstacle to transparency can be avoided by establishing as a condition to U.S. entry into negotiations that negotiating governments agree in advance to USTR’s timely publication of draft texts for public comment. We should also, in the process, be encouraging those governments to adopt on their own similar procedures for conveying information to and obtaining the views of their affected stakeholders. This will ensure that the end result of any negotiation will be more acceptable to those affected in all participating countries.
Congress has made clear in e-government legislation that it values and supports agency use of websites and electronic notices for getting information out to the public more efficiently and for encouraging public input into decision-making. And this administration’s “firstgov.com” initiative is intended to make accessing government electronic information more user-friendly. USTR can play an important role in advancing this trend by adopting the recommendations we are supporting.
Yours truly,
California First Amendment Coalition
Contact: Kent Pollock, Executive Director
2701 Cottage Way
Sacramento, California 95825
Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
Contact: Daniel Magraw, Executive Director
1350 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20036
Defenders of Wildlife
Contact: Carroll Muffett, Director of International Programs
1130 17th Street N.W.
Washington, D. C. 20036
J. Michael Donnelly, Information Research Specialist
Congressional Research Service
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20540-7500
Earthjustice
Contact: Martin Wagner, Director
426 17th Street, 6th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612-2820
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Contact: Gwen Hinze, Staff Attorney
454 Shotwell Street
San Francisco, California 94110
Federation of American Scientists
Contact: Steven Aftergood, Project Director
1717 K Street, N.W., Suite 209
Washington, D.C. 20036
Friends of the Earth-US
Contact: David Waskow, Trade Policy Coordinator
1717 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Suite 600
Washington, D.C. 20036
Government Accountability Project
Contact: Tom Devine, Legal Director
1612 K Street, N.W., Suite 1100
Washington, D. C. 20006
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)
Contact: Steve Suppan, Director of Research
2105 First Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55404
Knowledge Management Consulting
Contact: Susan Doran, Principal
1301 20th Street N.W., Suite 607
Washington, D.C. 20036
Natural Resources Defense Council
Contact: Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, Senior Attorney, International Program
1200 New York Ave, N.W., Suite 400
Washington, D.C. 20005
New Mexico Foundation for Open Government
Contact: Robert H. Johnson, Executive Director
P.O. Box 92197
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87199
Pesticide Action Network North America Regional Center (PANNA)
Contact: Monica Moore, Program Director
49 Powell Street, Suite 500
San Francisco, CA 94102
Public Knowledge
Contact: Nathan Mitchler, Director, Global Knowledge Initiative
1875 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Suite 650
Washington, D.C. 20009
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Contact: Lucy Dalglish, Executive Director
1815 North Fort Myer Drive, Suite 900
Arlington, VA 22209
Sierra Club Human Rights and Responsible Trade Program
Contact: James Mays, Chair
2545 County Rt. 3,
Olive Bridge, NY 12461
Society of Professional Journalists
Contact: Gordon McKerral, President
Eugene S. Pulliam National Journalism Center
3909 N. Meridian St.
Indianapolis, IN 46208
Working Group on Community Right-to-Know
Contact: Paul Orum, Director
218 D Street, S.E.
Washington, D. C. 20003