ban voters in the general. This me- based or racist rhetoric, are held to larger society.

larger society.
chanical, calculating approach to pol-
itics is one reason voters discount
The Wall Street Journal
political promises and the politicians
who make them.
Donald Trump upended all this.
He doesn’t carefully tailor his mes-
busy paying bills, raising kids and
fool voters into supporting Republi-
-cans who do the bidding of the rich.
12/11/2020
How else can Democrats explain the
millions of multiethnic, working-
class voters who refuse to vote for
their candidates and won’t support
Mr. Jindal was governor of Louisi-
Emotion and instinct deserve
more respect than we give them. The
heart is often wiser than the head.
Gifted politicians understand this in-
tuitively and connect with voters on
this deeper and less mechanical
working jobs to pay attention to ev-
ery detailed policy paper. They are
accustomed to politicians saying
whatever they think folks want to
hear during campaign season; it isn’t
rational for them to waste time on
ana, 2008-16, and a candidate for
the 2016 Republican presidential
Page : A015
nomination. Mr. Castellanos is a Re-
publican strategist, a founder of Pur-
ple Strategies and a political analyst
for ABC News.

Biden Can Make American Trade Deals Great Again

.
ly
By Robert B. Zoellick of the future. The new architects of with development plans, for example should lower barriers to innovation, tions, the former World Bank man-

P
international economics are adapt- with Africa and Central America, counter fishery subsidies, and boost aging director and Nigerian Finance

on
resident-elect Joe Biden prob- ing to changes in supply chains, in- and with carbon and biodiversity law enforcement against wildlife- Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the
ably wishes he could avoid cluding the move to digital plat- goals. trafficking. The U.S., the European new director general of the WTO.
trade policy. He can’t. To re- forms and services. The U.S. has Mr. Biden’s advisers have sug- Union and others will need to devise Mr. Biden could score an early win

us l,
establish partnerships with allies, instead been preoccupied with rais- gested convening a group of democ- carbon border taxes that comple- by backing Ms. Okonjo-Iweala, who

e
al a
devise rules for a changing world ing tariffs. If the U.S. doesn’t show racies to address technological secu- ment their national climate commit- is also a U.S. citizen and would be
economy, and prepare the American up for modern trade negotiations, it rity. They should complement that ments, without creating unfair barri- the first American to hold the post.

ci on
labor force for the future, Mr. Biden can hardly expect to set the rules. initiative with an agreement on the ers to developing countries. Then the U.S. should revive WTO
will have to defuse Donald Trump’s The Biden administration has an digital economy. Covid-19 has accel- The new administration will also processes by pressing other mem-
trade wars and connect his economic opportunity to build a new domestic erated reliance on digital tools for need to pay close attention to the la- bers to permit temporary measures

er s
and foreign policies. The press re- coalition for trade. In a 2020 survey bor provisions of the U.S.-Mexico- to assist stressed industries, autho-
ported on Wednesday that Mr. Biden by the Chicago Council on Global Af- Canada Agreement. The new pact, rize liberalizing agreements and dis-

m er
will nominate Katherine Tai, a tal- fairs, 75% of Democrats agreed that Unions might resist, but which replaced the North American cipline state-owned enterprises.
ented trade lawyer with experience the economic connections of globali- Free Trade Agreement, allows inves- A Biden strategy also will need to
in Congress, to be U.S. Trade Repre- zation are “mostly good” for the most Democrats now agree tigations of practices in individual face China. The U.S. will gain lever-

sentative. Ms. Tai has an opportu-
nity to reshape policy and realign
trade politics.
Since 1947, America’s leadership
has included setting the world’s
trade agenda. Yet last month, with-
out U.S. participation, 15 other coun-
tries in the Asia-Pacific, including
China and U.S. allies, signed a new
Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership to establish rules for the
most dynamic 30% of the world
m rp
country. A bipartisan 74% said trade
is good for the economy and 59%
think trade creates jobs at home.
co Fo
Groups ranging from digital deni-
zens to farmers know that economic
isolationism is a loser. Even so, Mr.
Biden’s political advisers may be in-
clined to bury the trade topic to
avoid fights with labor unions.
A new Biden approach should
highlight the digital economy, envi-
ronmental goods and services, and
n-
that economic isolation is
a losing proposition.
advanced manufacturing, retail and
e-commerce, remote health and
learning services, entertainment, fi-
nancial and payment services, and
cloud-enabled business software.
New trade deals need to address
cross-border data transfers and free
companies; this could be used either
to help build Mexico’s labor institu-
tions or as an excuse to block Mexi-
can exports.
The Biden team could pursue this
new trade policy through various
routes. Although Congress’s grant of
trade negotiating authority expires
in 2021, there probably would be bi-
partisan support for an extension to
negotiate a North American-U.K.
agreement, if it included labor and
age if it builds a liberalizing coali-
tion connected with a modernizing
agenda. China doesn’t want to be
isolated. The problem now is that
Mr. Trump isolated America.
Mr. Biden shouldn’t double down
on protectionism. He could package
openness to trade with assistance to
workers and an increase in the mini-
mum wage. Mr. Biden and Ms. Tai
can redirect the future international
economy by combining good trade

economy. The Comprehensive and health supplies, as well as intellec- choice of technologies, while pro- environmental provisions. If for po- policy and politics.
Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pa- tual property and agriculture. Ac- tecting copyrights and patents. Gov- litical reasons Mr. Biden decides not
no

cific Partnership, launched in 2018,
drew from provisions in U.S. free-
trade agreements. But President
Trump dropped out.
Countries around the world are
negotiating the business standards
cords can advance American values
by including terms that boost trans-
parency, fight corruption, and
strengthen the rule of law, including
for labor rights. The administration
should combine its trade agenda
ernments shouldn’t create customs
barriers or compel transfers of tech-
nology. Yet states will need the free-
dom to establish their own terms for
privacy and security.
The environmental provisions
to rejoin President Obama’s Trans-
Pacific Partnership, Mr. Biden could
begin with a digital accord.
Almost all the other countries in
the World Trade Organization want
to appoint, over Mr. Trump’s objec-
Mr. Zoellick served as president of
the World Bank (2007-12) and U.S.
trade representative (2001-05). He is
author of “America in the World: A
History of U.S. Diplomacy and For-
eign Policy.”

Now Is as Good a Time as Any for the U.S. to Quit Afghanistan

By Gil Barndollar months; the impending operation departing foreigners. also reflects a realistic appraisal of spring, or even years from now, the
And Sam Long was no secret to either side. Robbed In the rest of Afghanistan, when- the facts on the ground. The Taliban final U.S. military withdrawal from

I
of our critical eye in the sky, we ever American troops finally do de- are increasingly ascendant on the Afghanistan will inevitably be a
t was the shot of a lifetime. A braced ourselves for what we as- part for home, a similar scenario is battlefield; they now control or con- messy and destabilizing affair. Mem-
lone Taliban fighter, armed with sumed was the next step in an auda- likely to play out. Yet President test nearly half the country. Civilian bers of Congress, and America’s gen-
a cheap rocket-propelled grenade cious Taliban plan to maximize our Trump’s decision to commence a new casualties in October were the high- erally hawkish foreign policy estab-
launcher, had destroyed the enor- casualties as Marines and allies with- Afghanistan troop drawdown has est in more than a year. Continued lishment, need to reject the
mous surveillance blimp tethered to drew from our patrol bases to the rel- prompted bipartisan outrage. Demo- civil war is likely to be the next chap- comforting, now decadeslong illusion
our patrol base. The $500 rocket tore ative safety of Camp Leatherneck, a cratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth raised ter of Afghanistan’s story, whether that if we stay just a little longer, we
through the blimp from end to end, few hours drive south. the specter of more “Americans in U.S. forces stay or leave. can leave under better, cleaner cir-
obliterating $25 million of vital cam- Our worst fears never material- body bags,” while Republican Sens. Proponents of leaving American cumstances.
eras and sensors. The explosion ized. That cold winter of 2013 wit- Mitch McConnell and Marco Rubio troops in place remain unable to ar-
sounded like the sky itself was being nessed the largely undisturbed de- invoked the chaos of Saigon in 1975. ticulate a realistic, coherent, and
ripped apart. parture of thousands of American Retired generals and journalists achievable end state for Afghanistan. Whether American forces
The destruction of the blimp left and allied troops from Afghanistan’s added their voices to the chorus, con- The U.S. has even been quietly coop-
our little outpost vulnerable at the deadliest province. In the end, the demning this supposedly precipitous erating with the Taliban of late. The stay or leave, the fighting
worst possible moment. The long- Taliban chose to keep most of their withdrawal. But our own experience arrival of ISIS’ Afghanistan affiliate, is guaranteed to continue.
planned withdrawal of U.S. Marine powder dry, conserving resources to suggests that this consternation is Islamic State Khorasan, led the Amer-
units from northern Helmand prov- fight their fellow Afghans rather than overblown. ican Joint Special Operations Com- Why not cut our losses?
ince was scheduled to begin in weeks. sacrificing fighters in high-profile but Mr. Trump’s troop drawdown may mand to become the de facto “Tali-
Preparations had been under way for tactically meaningless attacks against well be politically motivated, but it ban air force” in 2019, providing
airstrikes to support the forces of our The opposite is closer to the truth:
longtime enemy against an even nas- Each passing month increases the
PUBLISHED SINCE 1889 BY DOW JONES & COMPANY
Notable & Quotable tier newcomer.
It isn’t new to have U.S. politicians
odds that the small U.S. force remain-
ing in Afghanistan eventually departs
Rupert Murdoch Robert Thomson
Executive Chairman, News Corp Chief Executive Officer, News Corp
Jane Mayer writing for the New who are disconnected from the facts in real haste, either as a result of the
Matt Murray Almar Latour
Yorker, Dec. 10: on the ground in Afghanistan. In collapse of the Afghan state or a dra-
Editor in Chief Chief Executive Officer and Publisher 2013, two years after President matic Taliban military breakthrough.
Neal Lipschutz Karen Miller Pensiero DOW JONES MANAGEMENT: According to several sources, Obama announced that American Waiting for the “right time” finally
Deputy Editor in Chief Managing Editor Ramin Beheshti, Chief Technology Officer; Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Mi- troops would soon come home, we to depart Afghanistan, at an annual
Jason Anders, Chief News Editor; Louise Story, Chief Kamilah Mitchell-Thomas, Chief People Officer; nority Leader, was so worried that discovered that the military was still cost of nearly $40 billion and a slow
News Strategist, Product & Technology Officer Edward Roussel, Chief Innovation Officer; [Dianne] Feinstein would mismanage expanding its footprint in Afghani- trickle of American combat deaths, is
Thorold Barker, Europe; Elena Cherney, Coverage; Christina Van Tassell, Chief Financial Officer
[Amy Coney] Barrett’s confirmation stan. Our team assumed control of a a feckless attempt to kick the can
Andrew Dowell, Asia; Anthony Galloway, Video &
Audio; Brent Jones, Culture, Training & Outreach;
hearings that he installed a trusted series of bases that had been en- down the road. Our troops should not
OPERATING EXECUTIVES:
Alex Martin, Print & Writing; Michael W. Miller, Jason P. Conti, General Counsel; former aide, Max Young, to “embed” larged in a costly engineering opera- be held hostage to policy makers’
Features & Weekend; Emma Moody, Standards; Frank Filippo, Print Products & Services; in the Judiciary Committee to make tion only months before. Five months vain hopes for an immaculate with-
Shazna Nessa, Visuals; Matthew Rose,
Kristin Heitmann, Chief Commercial Officer; sure the hearings didn’t go off the later, when word finally came to drawal, or to the calamities conjured
Enterprise; Michael Siconolfi, Investigations;
Stephen Wisnefski, Professional News
Nancy McNeill, Corporate Sales; rails. . . . The precaution nonetheless withdraw, we tore down many of up on Capitol Hill.
Thomas San Filippo, Customer Service; failed. . . . The Democrats sought to these newly remodeled outposts. The
Gerard Baker, Editor at Large Josh Stinchcomb, Advertising Sales;
Paul A. Gigot, Editor of the Editorial Page;
fire up their voters by highlighting rest we refashioned into smaller ver- Mr. Barndollar is a senior research
Suzi Watford, Chief Marketing Officer;
Daniel Henninger, Deputy Editor, Editorial Page Jonathan Wright, International
the illegitimacy of the process. But, sions of themselves, at significant ad- fellow at the Catholic University of
to the Democrats’ dismay, Feinstein ditional cost, so that the outnum- America’s Center for the Study of
WALL STREET JOURNAL MANAGEMENT:
Joseph B. Vincent, Operations; Professional Information Business: instead hugged the Republican chair- bered Afghan forces would have a Statesmanship. Mr. Long is a Boston-
Larry L. Hoffman, Production Ingrid Verschuren, Deputy Head man of the committee, Lindsey Gra- chance of holding them in the face of based small-business investor. They
EDITORIAL AND CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS: ham, thanking him for his “fairness” the assaults we knew they would served together as U.S. Marine com-
1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y., 10036 This copy is for personal, non-commercial and for running “one use only.
of the bestDoset not
soonedit,
face.alter or reproduce. bat advisers in Afghanistan in
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