6/23/2020 From: "Ricker, Monique T. EOP/USTR" Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at 8:15 AM To: FOIA , FN-USTR-FOIA Subject: RE: FOIA Request (USTR-20-1260) EXTERNAL SENDER Ms. Monahan, This email is the final response of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) No. FY20-109 submitted on May 15, 2020 requesting all email communications (including email messages, complete email chains, email attachments, calendar invitations) sent by Robert Lighthizer containing any of the following key terms: “social distancing”, “shelter in place”, “shelter-in-place”, “stay at home”, “stay-at-home”, Quarantine, Reopen, “re-open”, “Opening Our Country”, “back to work”, “light at the end of the tunnel”, “herd immunity”, “shield immunity”, Antibody, POTUS, Meadows, Ivanka, Kushner, Mnuchin, Kudlow, or Wilbur.  The time frame of our search of the Ambassador’s emails was April 10, 2020 through May 18, 2020, the date we conducted the search. Attached please find 10 responsive pages which we are releasing in part.  We withheld non-public contact information because we reasonably foresee that disclosure would harm an interest protected by FOIA Exemption 6, which protects personal information the release of which would not shed light on the performance of the agency's statutory duties.  We also withheld information regarding a proposed hardship standard for businesses impacted by the coronavirus under Exemption 5, deliberative process privilege.  The redacted materials reflect the personal opinions of the writer rather than the policy of the agency. This constitutes a complete response to your request.  You may contact me or my colleague Janice Kaye by email at FOIA@ustr.eop.gov or 202-395-3419 for any 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- https://outlook.office365.com/mail/search/id/AAQkAGJmZjIxNGNhLTM3ZDAtNDFkNy1hZjNjLTVhN2Y1ODc1NWFkNAAQABk%2FAQmiO5dGvDEl7xIfiS4%… 1/8 6/23/2020 mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at 202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at 202-7415769. If you are not satisfied with the response to this request, you may also administratively appeal by writing to: FOIA Office, GSD/RDF; ATTN: Janice Kaye, 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 foia@americanoversight.org May 15, 2020 VIA EMAIL https://outlook.office365.com/mail/search/id/AAQkAGJmZjIxNGNhLTM3ZDAtNDFkNy1hZjNjLTVhN2Y1ODc1NWFkNAAQABk%2FAQmiO5dGvDEl7xIfiS4%… 2/8 Fwd: [EXTERNAL] White Paper: China's exploitation of coronavirus pandemic and U.S. economic reboot From: "Lighthizer, Robert E. EOP/USTR" Exemption 6 ustr.eop.gov> "Gerrish, Jeffrey D. EOP/USTR" , "Garvey, Kevin P. To: EOP/USTR" , "Barloon, Joseph L. EOP/USTR" Date: Attachments Mon, 13 Apr 2020 21:10:49 -0400 White paper - China Exploitation of Coronavirus Pandemic - 0'.pdf (114.06 kB) Begin forwarded message: From: "Navarro, Peter K. EOP/WHO" Exemption 6 ho.eop.gov> Date: April 13, 2020 at 4:22:21 PM EDT To: "Kushner, Jared C. EOP/WHO" Exemption 6 who.eop.gov>, "Kudlow, Larry A. EOP/WHO" who.eop.gov>, "Lighthizer, Robert E. EOP/USTR" Exemption 6 ustr.eop.gov>, "Pottinger, Matthew F. EOP/WHO" Exemption 6 ho.eop.gov>, Exemption 6 Exemption 6 )treasury.gov" Exemption 6 "O'Brien, Robert C. EOP/WHO" Exemption 6 ho.eop.gov> Subject: FW: [EXTERNAL] White Paper: China's exploitation of coronavirus pandemic and U.S. economic reboot FYSA From: Michael c. Sekora Exemption 6 quadrigy.com> Sent: Monday, April 13, 2020 1:18 PM To: Navarro, Peter K. [OP/WHO Exemption 6 who.eop.gov> Subject: [EXTERNAL] White Paper: China's exploitation of coronavirus pandemic and U.S. economic reboot Peter, I would like to arrange a time to connect via phone with you or a member of your staff to discuss the attached White Paper. The paper addresses China's exploitation of the coronavirus pandemic and our required response. 1 USTR-20-1260-A-000001 The paper is a bit direct, but I have been addressing the China threat for 35 years, first for President Reagan, and there are some very key points that I believe are being missed about the China threat and the required U.S. response, that are critical to restarting the U.S. economy. I am a 100% supporter of the President, you and all of the White House staff who are making the tough decisions and moving mountains to keep our country and all its citizens safe, and moving forward, in these unprecedented times. I look forward to talking Please stay safe and healthy. Thanks, Mike 2 USTR-20-1260-A-000002 WORKING DOCUMENT -- NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION China is Aggressively Exploiting the Coronavirus Pandemic March 18, 2020 A new report from Horizon Advisory consultants details Beijing's post-virus strategy—already operational—to leverage the pandemic to seize global market share in key industries, further global dependence on Chinese manufacturing, and reverse efforts in the United States and elsewhere to decouple from the People's Republic." — Curtis Ellis, "China's Post-Virus Plan to Destroy America's Economy," March 17, 2020 The Problem Whether by chance or by design, Asia has spawned the monster that Nobel laureate Joshua Lederberg, Ph.D. warned us about in the movie "Outbreak" — a deadly virus being released on the world that is able to migrate and multiply so rapidly that it requires unprecedented draconian measures by all governments of the world to contain. China's Wuhan coronavirus has triggered terrible consequences for America and the world. Some of these consequences are being widely discussed in the press and are being aggressively addressed by governments at all levels — tragic loss of life and widespread company shutdowns with the eventual impact of corporate and personal bankruptcies. At the same time, there is a growing awareness in the U.S., and amongst our allies and adversaries, of America's dependence on China for the manufacturing of a wide range of critical goods, including medical supplies and pharmaceuticals. But what is not being discussed or addressed is China's aggressive and systematic exploitation of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic to accelerate the execution of its national technology strategy — the final objective being for China to become, and remain for generations, the highly dominant sole world superpower economically, militarily, and politically — China's national technology strategy being the foundation for planning and decision-making throughout the county's entire economic and military competitiveness ecosystem. While the U.S. government is absorbed with the unprecedented task of walking the tightrope of balancing the draconian measures required to contain the virus, Americans' civil rights and the economic capabilities and thereby health of the country, China is using this diversion of attention along with America's deteriorating economic health and limited production capability to both undercut America's relationships with developed and developing countries, and to accelerate America's economic decline. China is rapidly tightening its vice-like grip on the global economy: "At present, the COVID-19 situation has been contained in China; most regions have resumed work and production...It is possible to turn the crisis into an opportunity — to increase the trust and the dependence of all countries around the world of 'Made in China." — Han Jian, Director of the Ministry of Civil Affairs' China Industrial Economics Association (March 4, 2020) 1 1 USTR-20-1260-A-000003 WORKING DOCUMENT-- NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION The Present Approach The White House's and Congress' present and proposed solutions for addressing the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic — multiple stimulus packages — will at best only temporarily shore up the U.S. competitiveness ecosystem. These stimulus packages will do little to retard China's execution of its national technology strategy to include the near-term, aggressive exploitation of the coronavirus pandemic. Even the call of the forward-thinking U.S. leaders to reshore manufacturing from China will have little, if any impact on retarding China's march to becoming the sole world superpower, or reversing both U.S. economic decline and the country's waning influence worldwide. Why? Because U.S. leadership believes, as an unequivocal truth, that financial optimization is the correct and universally used foundation for all decision making — Finance-based planning — which includes financial optimization for technology (e.g., R&D targeting, countering IP theft). As a result, U.S. leadership is at a loss to understand how China has become a superpower faster than any country in the history of the world. So, without an understanding of the means that the competitor — China — is utilizing to consistently win, how is it possible to craft a plan or to decide on actions that will effectively counter the competitor? U.S. leadership is also unable to see that stimulus packages, and other financial manipulation, do not increase America's competitive advantage, and therefore economic health — but rather just spoof the indicators economists use to gauge the economic health of the country, and which MBAs use to measure the economic health of a company. So, without the ability to measure if a plan or an action is producing the required results at the country and company level, how is it possible to even effectively execute any action or plan? China's rise to superpower status is based on adroitly outmaneuvering, both offensively and defensively, the U.S. and all other countries in the exploitation of the worldwide technology (developing, acquiring and utilizing) for a true competitive advantage — Technology-based planning. How effectively a country or an organization exploits the technology relative to the competition fully dictates the amount of funds and other resources (e.g., manpower, natural resources) required, and how they must be exploited to generate the required competitive advantage in the marketplace, on the battlefield, and on the international stage. It is a highly ingrained fallacy, at both the expert and layman levels, that China's rise to superpower status is the result of: cheap labor, currency manipulation, unfair trade deals and a little bit of theft of U.S. technology. If this was truly what China was relying upon, China would still be only producing hand-assembled trinkets like they did in the 1950s. But instead, China is executing very adroit, aggressive technology-based strategies that are enabling China to rapidly surpass the U.S. and the rest of the world in an increasing number of the technologies that will define how life is lived, how societies evolve, and how countries wage wars in the coming years. As a result, the U.S. reshoring of goods is not the panacea it is being touted to be. The U.S. offshoring of manufacturing and other functions (e.g., call centers) created a U.S. weakness that China and others have very effectively exploited. But just bringing these functions back will not necessarily produce a U.S. strength. 2 2 USTR-20-1260-A-000004 WORKING DOCUMENT -- NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION If the U.S. reshores these functions using finance-based planning, China will very adroitly outmaneuver the U.S. in the exploitation of the worldwide technology to ensure that the U.S. goods do not have a competitive advantage in either domestic or foreign markets. China's rapid ascension to superpower status was not achieved by China simply being America's "go-to" offshore site for manufacturing, or by it optimizing its exploitation of its funds. It was achieved by China adroitly maneuvering in the exploitation of the U.S. and other countries' technologies to systematically increase the number and level of goods it could produce that acquire and maintain a competitive advantage in the world marketplace. The Solution To effectively counter China's national technology strategy — which includes its present aggressive exploitation of the coronavirus pandemic, and the resulting degradation of U.S. economic competitiveness and its international relations — the U.S. must execute technologybased planning, and execute it with a level of sophistication that is far beyond what China can execute both today, and in the foreseeable future. China executes its technology-based planning as a trial-and-error art. As an art, there is only a vague understanding of the connection between an action in the exploitation of the technology — for example, the development of a particular technology — and the resulting competitive advantage in the marketplace. Reagan's Socrates Project, which was initiated with the mission of ensuring America's status as a superpower for generations, transformed technology-based planning from a trial-and-error art into a science. As a science, the connection between an action in the exploitation of the technology and the resulting competitive advantage in the marketplace (or on the battlefield) is known in precise and accurate concrete detail. As a result, technology can be developed, acquired and utilized (i.e., exploited) with a level of speed, efficiency, and agility that is far beyond what China can achieve with its present trial-and-error art. The U.S. will be able to consistently outmaneuver China in the exploitation of all technology for a competitive advantage in all present and future economic, military and political domains The Socrates Automated Innovation System is based on the science of technology-based planning As a result, the System is able to produce a digital map of four-dimensional technologyspace, where all exploitation of technology for a competitive advantage takes place; enable a decision maker to see each competitor's executed and planned actions to exploit technology for a competitive advantage; and then develop a technology strategy that consistently out maneuvers the competitors to generate the required competitive advantage all within the available other resources (e.g., funds, manpower, natural resources). The Socrates System was used on the highest priority Reagan White House initiatives to include: Star Wars (SDI), stealth/counter-stealth, and the dismemberment of the Soviet Union. If the U.S. is to turn the tide relative to the rapidly growing China threat — to include China's exploitation of the coronavirus pandemic — it must reestablish Reagan's Socrates Project. 3 3 USTR-20-1260-A-000005 Possible Hardship Standard From: "Lighthizer, Robert E. EOP/USTR"Exemption 6 To: Steven Mnuchin Exemption 6 reasury.gov> Date: Fri, 17 Apr 2020 15:45:42 -0400 @ustr.eop.gov> Hardship Standard A business will be considered to have a significant financial hardship if Exemption 5 1 USTR-20-1260-A-000006 Re: MUST-SHARE MESSAGE I Lighthizer: The Era of Offshoring U.S. Jobs Is Over From: "Lighthizer, Robert E. EOP/USTR" Exemption 6 To: "Pottinger, Matthew F. EOP/WHO" Exemption 6 Date: Tue, 12 May 2020 16:57:16-0400 ustr.eop.gov> ho.eop.gov> Thanks Matt. On May 12, 2020, at 3:38 PM, Pottinger, Matthew F. EOP/WHO Exemption 6 who.eop.gov> wrote: Awesome piece. Matt From: Mitchell, Austin A. EOP/WHO Exemption 6 who.eop.gov> Sent: Tuesday, May 12, 2020 11:17 AM Subject: MUST-SHARE MESSAGE I Lighthizer: The Era of Offshoring U.S. Jobs Is Over MUST-SHARE MESSAGE I Lighthizer: The Era of Offshoring U.S. Jobs Is Over "Over the long run, the path to certainty and prosperity is the same for our companies as it is for our workers: Bring the jobs back to America." The New York Times By U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer May 11, 2020 Link to op-ed here. Some say crises don't so much alter the course of history as accelerate changes already underway. That's certainly the case when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic and the offshoring of American jobs. In recent years, businesses have been rethinking the way that overextended, overseas supply lines expose them to unacceptable risks, a reassessment that got a boost from President Trump's reorientation of U.S. trade policy. A lemming-like desire for 1 USTR-20-1260-A-000007 "efficiency" had caused many of them to move manufacturing over the past two decades to China, Vietnam and Indonesia, among other places. They did so to save on labor costs or to avoid environmental standards, but that wasn't the whole story. Offshoring was a trend that morphed into a craze. Egged on by Wall Street analysts and management consultants, or simply swept up by the herd mentality of their peers, businesses came to see off shoring as something they were expected to do to serve the interests of shareholders. Many failed to weigh independently the long-term costs or meaningfully consider alternatives. For business, this strategy paid off in the short term. Cheap labor meant higher profits. But for America, the effects were traumatic. The United States lost five million manufacturing jobs. That, in turn, devastated towns and contributed to the breakdown of families, an opioid epidemic and despair. Trade policy actions in the 1990s and 2000s magnified this disaster by making offshoring easier. The decision in 2001 to establish permanent normal trading relations with China is the most regrettable example. Until then, the president had to make a determination every year whether to renew so-called most-favored-nation status, which allowed China to export to the United States at mostly single-digit tariffs, and Congress could challenge that determination. China's most-favored-nation status was always renewed, but the uncertainty effectively raised the risk-adjusted costs of investing there. After 2001, that uncertainty went away — along with at least two million American jobs. Trade accords during this time, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, zeroed out tariffs on imports from low-wage countries, worsening manufacturing job losses. These agreements made gestures toward "leveling the playing field" for workers by requiring our trading partners to take on token labor and environmental obligations. But these measures proved toothless and unenforceable. A result was pure regulatory arbitrage: Companies could avoid U.S. labor and environment standards by manufacturing abroad while still enjoying unfettered, duty-free access to our market. These trade agreements also undermined a key remaining competitive advantage for the United States — commitment to the rule of law and a functioning, independent legal system. The agreements allowed companies to litigate disputes with foreign governments over expropriations and other issues not through local courts, but through so-called investor-state dispute-settlement provisions. In doing so, the federal government effectively purchased political risk insurance for any American company that wanted to send jobs abroad. Recently, however, we have seen a change both in business attitudes and government policy. 2 USTR-20-1260-A-000008 Many companies have realized that offshoring creates risks that often outweigh the incremental efficiencies. Long supply lines flow at the whim of local politics, labor unrest and corruption. In some countries, like China, there have been government wide efforts to steal intellectual property for the benefit of domestic companies that become the main competitors for the victims of the theft. At the same time, the trend in trade policy was also shifting rapidly. Businesses have seen that President Trump did not support their blind pursuit of efficiency in the global economy. Instead, his focus was on jobs, particularly in manufacturing, because he recognized the importance of productive work not only to our G.D.P., but also to the health and happiness of our citizens. Business success and economic efficiency, of course, remained important considerations. But they were no longer the be-all and end-all of trade policy. The new policy consisted of aggressive enforcement of prior trade commitments, renegotiating job-destroying trade deals like NAFTA and the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement, and taking on China's predatory trade and economic policies. Many businesses protested that this policy shift created uncertainty. President Trump's response was simple: If you want certainty, bring your plants back to America. If you want the benefits of being a U.S. company, and the protection of the U.S. legal system, then bring back the jobs. As a result of these developments, the offshoring frenzy started to abate. Since the administration first imposed duties on Chinese imports in July 2018, American companies including Apple, Whirlpool and Stanley Black & Decker have either scrapped offshoring plans or announced decisions to move production to the United States. Automotive companies have announced $34 billion in new U.S. investment as a result of the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The Kearney Reshoring Index, which measures companies' global production strategies, shifted significantly in 2019: Reversing a five-year trend, imports of manufactured goods from low-wage Asian countries fell while U.S. domestic manufacturing output remained strong. Our experience of the past two months will only accelerate this reversal. As companies prepare to reopen their U.S. operations, many have found themselves held hostage to decisions made by foreign governments about whether their suppliers are "essential" or not. Every day I talk to business leaders who now acknowledge they underestimated the risk in decisions to move jobs overseas or to rely on the production of small but crucial parts in some far-off and often unstable country. The pandemic has vindicated the Trump trade policy in another way: It has revealed our overreliance on other countries as sources of critical medicines, medical devices and personal protective equipment. The public will demand that policymakers 3 USTR-20-1260-A-000009 remedy this strategic vulnerability in the years to come by shifting production back to the United States. The era of reflexive off shoring is over, and with it the old overzealous emphasis on efficiency and the concomitant lack of concern for the jobs that were lost. After we have defeated this disease and reopened our economy, we cannot forget the hard lessons learned from this misguided experiment. Over the long run, the path to certainty and prosperity is the same for our companies as it is for our workers: Bring the jobs back to America. ### 4 USTR-20-1260-A-000010