Amidst all the international trade rhetoric, including the finger-pointing and accusations of “You’re a dirty protectionist!”, here is some welcome sane talk from the US Trade Representative’s office, which is a rare place for adults to congregate:

The United States is pressing China to change policies that overfuel its exports and led to President Barack Obama slapping duties on Chinese-made tires last month, a U.S. trade official said on Thursday.

“We have been engaging them in a dialogue in a way to address the underlying causes of surges,” Tim Reif, general counsel in the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, said in a speech at the National Press Club.

That, rather than U.S. industry groups filing additional anti-import surge petitions, would be “perhaps the most effective way of addressing this ongoing trade policy challenge,” Reif said.

The statement was the clearest signal yet that the Obama administration is not eager for new “Section 421″ trade petitions, like the one that led Obama last month to slap a 35-percent duty on Chinese-made tires. (Reuters)

Wow. Actually discussing underlying policy instead of using bullshit protectionist mechanisms like safeguards. What a concept!