President Bush has gone on the offensive this week, touting the generally solid performance of the U.S. economy and the danger posed to our market-driven prosperity by rising protectionist sentiments in Congress.

In a speech yesterday in the historic Federal Hall in New York City, the President sounded a clear trumpet in defense of free trade. In a rarity for politicians of any stripe, he not only extolled the virtues of exports but also of imports, and bluntly warned against “walling off America from world trade.”

Here are a few highlights from the speech:

“As we improve free trade, consumers get lower prices.”

“Since World War II, the opening of global trade and investment has resulted in income gains of about $9,000 a year for the average American household.”

“The Doha Round … is a great opportunity to lift millions of people out of poverty around the world.”

“I know there’s going to be a vigorous debate on trade, and bashing trade can make for good sound bites on the evening news. But walling off America from world trade would be a disaster for our economy. Congress needs to reject protectionism, and to keep this economy open to the tremendous opportunities that the world has to offer.”

Of course, the President will need to work with skeptical Democrats in Congress to pass pro-trade legislation and stop any anti-trade measures.

In the meantime, the President can put his pro-trade words into action unilaterally. A recent article in The Weekly Standard cites several good ideas from your favorite libertarian think tank on actions President Bush could take independently of Congress to expand the freedom of Americans to trade in the global economy.