A member of the Trade and Environment Policy Advisory Committee has resigned in protest of the president's stance on climate change right as the Trump administration is set to announce the panel's new membership under a renewed charter.
Bill Snape, who has been on the TEPAC since being nominated by then-U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick in 2005, wrote a resignation letter with a hidden message: The first letter of each paragraph spells out “Not a hoax,” a reference to past remarks and tweets from President Trump claiming that climate change is a hoax.
“On the one hand, when utilized properly, TEPAC serves an enormously useful role in advising USTR officials on the many technical aspects of trade rules, practices and implementation as they relate to ongoing negotiations directed by the President,” he wrote. “The other hand, unfortunately, is that I don’t believe in this President or his policies.”
“As it is, without the Paris Climate Agreement, without the Clean Power Plan, and without any degree of understanding or sensitivity to global warming (particularly as it relates to international trade), the President is taking our country in exactly the wrong direction,” Snape's letter says.
Snape is the senior counsel for the Center for Biological Diversity. His letter adds that he remains “devoted to the goal of sustainable trade and development” and believes “our great country possesses the capacity to be a true global leader in advancing policies and practices that lead to a better world.”
The TEPAC's charter will be renewed on Sept. 30 for two years. The Trump administration could use the charter renewal to overhaul the committee's membership or keep it largely the same, sources said. The administration could undertake a “cleansing of the minds” akin to the overhaul of personnel atop the Environmental Protection Agency, one committee member said – adding that to date the administration has show no sign it is planning such a purge.
The committee advises USTR on the implications of trade on the environment and its members are selected from environmental interest groups, industry, agriculture, academia, consumer groups, services and non-governmental organizations.
The committee has not yet met with USTR Robert Lighthizer, who joined the administration in May, nor has it had any contact with the EPA, multiple committee members said. Under the Obama administration, TEPAC met with officials from USTR, EPA and the Interior Department two to four times a year, one member said.
Two committee members emphasized that TEPAC has a strong and productive relationship with career-level staff at USTR.
Snape's letter, in full (letters in bold as in the original):
Dear Ambassador Lighthizer and Relevant Agency Staff:
Never, or rarely ever, have I had such a difficult time making a decision as I have over the past several months regarding my membership on the United States Trade and Environment Policy Advisory Committee (TEPAC), on which I have proudly served since 2005. As a registered Independent, having served under both Presidents Bush and Obama, and after much consideration, I hereby resign my appointment to TEPAC.
On the one hand, when utilized properly, TEPAC serves an enormously useful role in advising USTR officials on the many technical aspects of trade rules, practices and implementation as they relate to ongoing negotiations directed by the President.
The other hand, unfortunately, is that I don’t believe in this President or his policies.
As it is, without the Paris Climate Agreement, without the Clean Power Plan, and without any degree of understanding or sensitivity to global warming (particularly as it relates to international trade), the President is taking our country in exactly the wrong direction.
However, please know that I remain devoted to the goal of sustainable trade and development, and believe our great country possesses the capacity to be a true global leader in advancing policies and practices that lead to a better world.
Our ultimate responsibility as citizens is to country and what is just for civil society, not to arbitrary and irrational government agency directives.
Additionally, I want to thank the civil servants at USTR with whom I have worked over the past decade. I expect I will continue to work with these dedicated officials, and perhaps you, in my role as private citizen and lawyer.
EXciting for me now is the opportunity to advocate, unshackled from security clearance limitations, for trade and climate/energy policies I truly believe are beneficial for the United States and the rest of the planet. My hope for you and the agency is that you will find a way to do the right thing.
Respectfully,
William J. Snape
