The U.S. is more active on trade policy than it has been in years.  President Obama is meeting with Canada and Mexico about new agreements, Congress will hold hearings on changing decades-old trade law, and the federal government will more broadly be bringing several cases before the WTO.

Yet, in constructing...

Over the past several decades, a new trade paradigm has arisen, one that deemphasizes domestic, vertically integrated firms competing in end products with similarly integrated firms from other nations.  Instead, from automobiles to electronics, chemicals, and clothing, the production process has dispersed.  

President Obama indicated his seriousness about exports when he committed to double them by 2015, but he has given conflicting signals about his commitment to trade liberalization. While the administration has praised the passage of the FTAs with Panama, Colombia, and South Korea, the president waited far too long to submit the legislation to Congress.

The president has submitted three free trade agreements to Congress. But four years of tortuous domestic debate over the FTAs has led the world to doubt U.S. commitment to opening markets.

The relationship between international trade and trade policy and the Farm Bill is complex and largely indirect, but vital to the industry. The future of agricultural incomes in the United States will be shaped largely by trade prospects.

As the trade agenda returns to the headlines, it is important to remember that there is both good news and bad news in the world of U.S. trade. And the shorthand for the division between the two is the difference between policy and politics.

Obama can follow the long tradition of U.S. presidents who turned from frustration at home to success abroad by resolving to conclude the World Trade Organization's Doha Round of global talks next year.