Basically, the U.S. trade policy is under the control of the Congress. Therefore, depending on the dynamics of the congress election, economic and trade policy of the U.S. is greatly influenced by its majority party. The Democratic Party won a majority of the state governorships and the U.S. House and Senate seats each last Nov. 7 2006, ending 12 years of Republican rule.
By the way, members of the Democratic and Republican Congressional leadership led by the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi joined with key Administration officials on May 10 2007 to announce an agreement on a new trade policy for America. The agreement announced was a fundamental shift in U.S. trade policy. (The rest is omitted.)