U.S. trade policy

Regarding the editorial ''Beating up on trade is not the answer'' (July 28): How ironic that Congress has been considering yet another incomprehensible farm bill, yet it cannot be bothered to take the necessary steps to ensure the country benefits from future trade agreements, nor even to ratify the bilateral trade agreements America has signed with Korea, Peru and others.

The business community agrees that we need to invest in the future of our people and to deal better with the problems caused by trade. But it is hard to engender strong support for these positions with the strident anti-trade rhetoric emanating from so many in Washington.

To retain America's leadership in the world, we must better engage emerging markets like China and India, where so much of tomorrow's economic growth will take place. But we will never do so as long as America's leaders cannot see beyond tomorrow's elections.

Peter M. Robinson, New York

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