The Grand Inquisitor on Trade

The second annual search for countries to be blamed for aggravating America's world trade problems is officially ended. This time it netted only one alleged offender, which might be a good sign that it's time to bring an early end to this peculiarly American ritual before it becomes any further established. The search is conducted under "Super 301," the name informally given a section of the 1988 Trade Act. Super 301 mandates the indictment of a group of "priority" countries that allegedly maintain unfair trade practices which significantly inhibit U.S. exports. More than any other single prov...