Recently Congress revoked a pilot program allowing a small fleet of Mexican trucks passage into the United States. This was a violation of NAFTA, and the Mexican government promised retaliation. That didn't stop Congress! Unsurprisingly, Mexico has retaliated and placed duties on 89 U.S. products. In a statement, John McCain points out that the whole matter began with an amendment inserted into the recent obmnibus spending bill. The amendment's sponsor, North Dakota Democrat Byron Dorgan, is an avowed protectionist. The first thing Dorgan would like to see is America build up trade barriers to promote domestic industry, even if that means higher prices for consumers, loss of U.S. market share in the global economy, and harm to North Dakota oil seeds exports. The global trading system hit a wall last year with the collapse of the Doha round. Now it is unraveling. And the American president? He isn't lifting a finger to stop it.