Public Citizen v. US Trade Representative, Civ. A. No. 92-2102 (CRR).

• Decision Date: 01 July 1993
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 92-2102 (CRR).
• Citation: 822 F. Supp. 21
• Parties: PUBLIC CITIZEN, Sierra Club, and Friends of the Earth, Plaintiffs, v. OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

822 F. Supp. 21

PUBLIC CITIZEN, Sierra Club, and Friends of the Earth, Plaintiffs, v. OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE, Defendant.

Civ. A. No. 92-2102 (CRR).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

June 30, 1993.

As Amended July 1, 1993.

Patti Goldman, with Alan B. Morrison and Paul R.Q. Wolfson, of the Public Citizen Litigation Group, for plaintiffs.

Bradley M. Campbell, with Samuel C. Alexander of the U.S. Dept. of Justice, Environmental and Natural Resources Div., and Roger B. Clegg, Acting Asst. Atty. Gen. and Benedict S. Cohen, Acting Deputy Asst. Atty. Gen., for defendant.

CHARLES R. RICHEY, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Before the Court are the parties' Cross Motions for Summary Judgment in the above-captioned case. In their Complaint, the Plaintiffs allege that the Defendant has failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"), 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq., in the negotiation and conclusion of the North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA"). More specifically, the Plaintiffs challenge the Defendant's failure to prepare an environmental impact statement ("EIS") on the NAFTA and request that the Court order the Defendant to produce an EIS on the NAFTA before the President submits it to Congress. The NEPA requires that all federal agencies prepare an EIS for "every recommendation or report on proposals for legislation and other major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment." 42 U.S.C. § 4332(2)(C).

The Court held oral argument on the motions on May 25, 1993. After careful consideration of the papers filed by the parties, the arguments of counsel at the hearing, the underlying law, and the entire record in this action, the Court shall grant the Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment.

II. BACKGROUND

In 1991, the United States began trilateral negotiations with Canada and Mexico with the goal of establishing a North American free trade zone. See 56 Fed.Reg. 32, 454-55 (July 16, 1991). These negotiations resulted in the NAFTA, a comprehensive document affecting every aspect of trade among the three countries. The NAFTA was signed by the trade representatives of the United States, Mexico and Canada on October 7, 1992.¹

The NAFTA is subject to the provisions of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. See 19 U.S.C. § 2101 et seq. ("the Trade Acts"). The Trade Acts provide that the Defendant United States Office of the Trade Representative ("OTR") shall serve as the President's chief negotiator in trade matters. Id. § 2171(c). The NAFTA will be submitted to Congress under the "fast track" approval process.² See 19 U.S.C. §§ 2191-2194, 2902-2903. Under the fast track process, the President submits the NAFTA to Congress along with implementing legislation and an explanation of the changes in the current law. 19 U.S.C. § 2903(a)(1)(B). The NAFTA must be approved by both Houses of Congress before it can become effective, and such approval occurs when the NAFTA's implementing legislation has been enacted by both the Senate and the House of Representatives. 19 U.S.C. § 2903(a)(1). Under the fast track process, once the NAFTA has been submitted to Congress, Congress has only 60 legislative days to approve or reject the agreement, id. § 2191(c) and (e); legislative debate is limited to 20 hours in each House, id. § 2191(f) and (g); and Congress may not change the implementing legislation or the Agreement. Id. § 2191(d). The President has no obligation to submit the NAFTA to Congress for ratification; however, he is expected to do so some time this fall. See John Dillin, Kantor Says NAFTA Will Bring More Jobs, Christian Science Monitor, June 23, 1993, at 2 (United States Trade Representative Mickey Kantor says that NAFTA should be ready for Congress in September.)

As noted earlier, the NEPA requires an EIS for "every recommendation or report on proposals for legislation and other major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment." 42 U.S.C. § 4332(2)(C). The Plaintiffs are three nonprofit groups that have taken an active interest in the environment: Public Citizen, the Sierra Club, and the Friends of the Earth. They contend that the Defendant United States Trade Representative and the NAFTA are subject to the NEPA and bring this action for declaratory relief to compel the Defendant to prepare an EIS on the NAFTA before it is submitted to Congress. The Plaintiffs allege that this Court has jurisdiction in this suit under the Administrative Procedures Act ("APA"), 5 U.S.C. § 701 et seq., which provides for judicial review of a final agency action by a party adversely affected or aggrieved by agency action within the meaning of a relevant statute, here the NEPA.

As the Defendant admits no EIS was prepared on the NAFTA, the question before the Court is whether the NEPA and the APA provide relief to the Plaintiffs under these circumstances. In other words, the issue before the Court is whether the NEPA and the APA properly apply to the NAFTA and the OTR's action in negotiating, drafting and ultimately approving the NAFTA on behalf of the United States. As to these issues, the Defendant claims that: 1) there is no jurisdiction over this suit under the APA; 2) the Plaintiffs have no standing in this action; and 3) the NEPA does not apply to the NAFTA. However, the Court concludes that the plain language and policies of the APA and the NEPA apply to the NAFTA and the OTR. Furthermore, the Court finds that there is jurisdiction here under the APA and that the Plaintiffs' allegations of environmental harm are sufficient for purposes of standing under the NEPA. Finally, the Court determines that the Defendant has ignored the clear language and the legislative mandate of the NEPA in failing to prepare an EIS of the NAFTA, and, therefore, the Court shall grant summary judgment for the Plaintiffs.

III. THIS COURT HAS JURISDICTION OVER THIS ACTION UNDER THE APA BECAUSE THE DEFENDANT HAS TAKEN FINAL AGENCY ACTION IN ITS PREPARATION AND FINALIZATION OF THE NAFTA.

As a threshold matter, the Court concludes that it has subject matter jurisdiction under the APA for the Plaintiffs' claims under the NEPA.

The same Plaintiffs filed an earlier challenge to the NAFTA in August 1991. At that time, the negotiations for the NAFTA had not yet been concluded and no agreement had been finalized. That action was dismissed by the district court. Public Citizen v. Office of United States Trade Representative, 782 F.Supp. 139 (D.D.C.1992) (June Green, J.). The Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of that action, holding that there was no jurisdiction under the APA because there had not been any final agency action under section 704 of the APA. Public Citizen v. Office of United States Trade Representative, 970 F.2d 916 (D.C.Cir.1992). The Circuit noted that there was no event triggering the agency's obligation to prepare an EIS because no final NAFTA agreement had been reached, as only incomplete drafts had been prepared. Id. at 919. Under these circumstances, our Court of Appeals believed that a suit challenging the NAFTA was premature. Id. The Plaintiffs now properly assert that the OTR has taken final action as to the NAFTA and there is jurisdiction under the APA in the instant action.

The Court begins, as our Court of Appeals did in the prior case, in analyzing the question of final agency action by examining the "NEPA itself, for it specifically identifies the time when an agency's action is sufficiently concrete to trigger the EIS requirement." Id. at 918. Our Court of Appeals explicitly stated that in order to challenge the NAFTA, the "Plaintiffs must point to a specific proposal for legislation or other action `at least arguably triggering the agency's obligation to prepare an impact statement.'" Id. at 918-19, quoting Foundation on Economic Trends v. Lyng, 943 F.2d 79, 85 (D.C.Cir.1991). In rejecting the Plaintiffs' earlier claim, our Court of Appeals explicitly noted that no final agreement had yet been produced in NAFTA negotiations and that it was unclear whether the negotiations would ever produce a final agreement. Id.

However, it is undisputed that the NAFTA agreement has now been finalized and signed by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It is also undisputed that the NAFTA signed by the three countries is the same agreement that will be sent to Congress. Furthermore, under the fast track procedure, the agreement itself cannot be changed after it has been sent to the Congress for ratification. 19 U.S.C. § 2191(d).³ Therefore, the Court concludes that the NAFTA agreement constitutes final agency action under the APA for purposes of this lawsuit.

A. THIS COURT HAS APA JURISDICTION BECAUSE THE DEFENDANT OFFICE OF TRADE REPRESENTATIVE IS AN AGENCY UNDER THE APA AND BECAUSE THE DEFENDANT HAS HAD SIGNIFICANT INVOLVEMENT IN THE PREPARATION, NEGOTIATION, AND DRAFTING OF THE NAFTA.

However, this does not end the Court's inquiry under the APA as the Defendant raises a related argument regarding jurisdiction that must be addressed as a threshold matter. The Defendant contends that there is no APA jurisdiction in this case because the President, and not the Defendant, is responsible for any final agency action on the NAFTA and there is no APA jurisdiction to review actions by the President. Defendant's Memorandum in Support of its Motion, at 15; see Armstrong v. Bush, 924 F.2d 282 (D.C.Cir.1991) (no APA jurisdiction to challenge the actions of the President). More specifically, the Defendant claims that APA jurisdiction is improper here because: 1) the NAFTA is actually a result of the President's efforts, and not that of the OTR for purposes of the APA and the NEPA; 2) the final agency action with regard to the NAFTA is its submission to Congress by the President and not simply its negotiation and the production of a final agreement; and 3) the President has no obligation to submit the NAFTA to Congress. How...