Where Is Obama's Trade Policy?

The New York Times yesterday published an editorial titled "Waiting for a Trade Policy," which noted that presidential backing for a single bilateral trade agreement does not a policy make:

"South Korea is an important ally in a dangerous neighborhood, and the White House should push hard to get this deal finished and through the Senate. It should push just as hard for ratification of pending agreements with Colombia and Peru. But it can't stop there. It must also push for more open global trade bound by multilateral rules and obligations."

There's not much that I can add to that. Except that we are also still waiting for the PSD, the QDDR, and all twelve of USAID assistant administrators (two of the twelve have been named, but not yet confirmed) to help the U.S. government connect the dots between trade, investment, and development. Until then, the three-legged stool -- defense, diplomacy and development -- for promoting U.S. interests internationally is still looking pretty wobbly.