The Financial Times featured an article on Tuesday, urging the leaders of this week’s Group of Eight (G8) summit to move forward on their commitment to “promote global trade and investment and reject protectionism, to underpin prosperity”. As the author points out, it was the protectionism of the 1930s under the Smoot Hawley tariff that played a key role in prolonging the Great Depression, and also in heightening national security tensions. Despite recent setbacks, such as the trade protectionist provisions in the climate change and energy conservation bill, the U.S. should act on its responsibility to its citizens, and send a strong signal that it will guard and promote our global trading and investment system.