WASHINGTON -- Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., believes the Democratic Party should embrace global free trade and outlined a series of policy steps Tuesday to help bring skeptics around to his view.

"The main goal is to get more Democrats more comfortable with trade," he said at a New Democratic Network event.

That will come about by including environmental and labor protections in trade agreements and through new provisions to help workers affected by trade and to enforce trade agreements. More fundamentally, he said, people must begin to think more broadly about trade and its opportunities for American workers.

America is on the cusp of a new mindset on trade, he said. "I think people are kind of ready," he said. "The time is right to make these more forward-looking changes."

Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees all reciprocal trade agreements, criticized political leaders who promise to push back the tide of globalization.

He questioned whether Democrats will "simply echo the past" and dust off standard approaches, or if they will speak with a new voice.

Most trade policy in the past decade has been focused on "commercially small" agreements and on global talks that seem adrift and unrelated to the goals of American workers. Little enforcement has followed successful agreements, he said, and programs to help workers affected by trade lack flexibility and resources.

"These facts add up to a devastating domestic and international indictment of American trade policy," he said. "At home, Americans do not believe in the benefits of trade. And Americans cannot see the vision of a better America in a globalized world."

Very few Americans think trade creates jobs, he said. Two-thirds think trade restrictions are needed to protect domestic industries, he added.

"Absent consensus at home we cannot assert leadership abroad," he said. "The world's most dynamic economic players have long ago left their starting blocks. We remain on the sidelines."

Democrats must build on the international visions of former Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy and Bill Clinton, he said. "Our next steps must be bold and ambitious," he said.

Baucus outlined four areas where changes must be made.

First, the federal government must take up its responsibility in the face of globalization, he said. That includes enforcing trade agreements, protecting consumers and providing assistance to workers who lose their jobs or are otherwise affected by global trade.

This fall his panel will take up bills on trade enforcement and trade adjustment assistance, he said.

Second, the U.S. must multiply its successes. He cited a May 10 bipartisan agreement to require environmental and labor norms in trade deals and said skeptics must be shown that those provisions work. He also said tariffs should be adjusted so that everyday items like socks and T-shirts are taxed less than luxury goods. The U.S. must build its trade relations with China, he added.

"We do have real problems with China," he said. "But we cannot disengage."

Third, the U.S. must focus on its strengths and needs. The U.S. should pursue trade agreements with countries such as Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan and India. He advocated for a new intellectual property agreement and eliminating tariffs on environmental goods and services.

Lastly, the U.S. must rethink its policies to predict and embrace change, he said, rather than react to it.