EVERY time there is an international gathering it seems it is another chance for "spin" to be put on the huge opportunities this presents to get the Doha Round of the World Trade Organisation out of the deep freezer.
The Davos World Economic Forum was another of these events and we sent a beaming Trade Minister packing to convince the blockers that free trade is the best thing for the world after the global financial crisis.
Indeed, the International Monetary Fund thinks the global economy is set to rebound sharply this year, growing 3.9 per cent.
The way out of the gloom is being strongly led by the developing world, whereas the US, European Union and Japan aren't likely to grow fast enough to reduce their own unemployment significantly.
Two issues alone could unseat the IMF optimism:
- The attempts by China to stem inflation caused by their stampeding growth.
- The inconsistency in indicators from the US and Europe.
The highlight this year has been the performance of French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who took the limelight with a hard-hitting call for a re-think of the free market and capitalism.
Among the excitement, some 17 WTO trade ministers on Saturday were whipped into a commitment to fight protectionism.
The ministers, at an informal meeting at the Davos huddle, said they would continue efforts "to resist protectionist pressures at home" and recognised that "the opening-up of market" was the best to fight the crisis.
Apparently, Saturday's "mini-ministerial" meeting was attended by most of the big-hitters at the WTO, such as the European Union, Australia, Japan, Brazil, India and China.
But not everyone turned up. Few in the media picked up the important point that the US didn't bother to send anyone.
There is hardly any wonder. If you picked up the gist of the first, sombre State of the Union address by Barack Obama last week, opening the US to free trade seems further away now that it ever has in the past decade.
Free-trade advocates now argue that the US, as the world's major economic and military superpower, must use its influence and take responsibility to get the world back to a greater levels of trade activity.
It is a compelling argument, waged by the majority of Obama's party, who say risking any more jobs through trade deals is not on.
By the content of the heavy dose of reality in his address, Obama's administration will be pre-occupied by stimulating recovery in American jobs, stabilising the domestic financial system and working its way through the mess of health-care reforms.
The latter of these by itself seems strong enough to wrest the political impetus away from the Democrats, just two short years after the tidal surge of support for change.
