Rhetoric and Economics USTR Katherine Tai made another valiant attempt this week to defend the Biden Administration’s trade policy. Her reassurances sound good because they are a bit Pollyannish. She repeated most of the current Administration thinking on trade policy – that the traditional approach does not work in the current real world and the goal is results that are more inclusive and bringing broader benefits because it is after all “worker-centric.” But trade is about competition, and competition has winners and losers. Everyone can’t earn a participation prize. The current state-directed investment could have a payoff, though it will take years to assess its success or failure. In the meantime, the U.S...