Jeffrey Schott, a trade expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a think-tank, says that the case against China may also help the cause of open trade in other ways. If Ron Kirk, America’s new trade representative, demonstrates that he is actively enforcing the agreements already in place, he may get “the authority to negotiate Doha and other accords”.

That may be too sanguine. True, America and the EU are not resorting to imposing fresh barriers of their own in this dispute; for that matter, China’s export restrictions are not new either. But trade experts warn that protectionism remains a serious worry. Of particular concern are the so-called “Buy China” requirements added to China’s stimulus package this month. These require recipients of money from China’s mammoth fiscal expansion to choose domestic suppliers “unless products or services cannot be obtained in reasonable commercial conditions in China”. This sounds like out-and-out protectionism. But America, which included similar “Buy America” provisions in its own stimulus bill, may find it hard to raise a stink.

© The Economist Newspaper Limited 2009