As I said the other day, though the environment is the best it has been in a long time for those of us who are advocating for a saner, fairer trade policy, no one should think that so-called “free trade” is off the table. Now, Japan may be stepping up to the trough, according to The Wall Street Journal today:

Lately the idea has gained the attention of Japan’s leaders. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s main economic-policy committee recommended last month that the country “consider” free-trade pacts with the U.S. and the European Union. A few business groups already favor a U.S.-Japan free trade agreement. The U.S.-Japan Business Council and the influential Nippon Keidanren, the Japan Business Federation, came out over the past year in support of an Economic Partnership Agreement, which would include free trade.

A U.S.-Japan free-trade deal would link the world’s two biggest economies, which together produce a third of global output. It could mark a huge opportunity for American farmers by giving Japanese consumers access to lower-cost food from the U.S.

Proponents of a U.S.-Japan deal are thinking well into the future. For a start, the U.S. free-trade agreement with Korea might not pass in Congress because of concerns about its potential impact on the U.S. auto industry.

    Here’s the paragraph that really made my eyebrows go up:

What’s more, the Bush administration’s fast-track authority on trade agreements, which limits Congress to an up or down vote on such deals, expired at the end of June. In practical terms that means any further bilateral trade deals will likely have to wait until President Bush’s successor takes over in January 2009. That could easily be someone who isn’t keen on free-trade pacts: Hillary Clinton, who wants the Democratic nomination, has already declared her opposition to the deal with Korea.

    If Sen. Clinton has been permanently convinced that so-called “free trade” is poor policy, that would be a good thing. But, it is yet to be seen whether her opposition to the South Korea deal–opposition expressed in the midst of a very tough presidential campaign–will translate into more broadly to so-called “free trade” if she is elected president, or if she simply returns to the U.S. Senate. We can remain hopeful.