Pascal Lamy from the WTO has given a strong defence of the impact that trade can has as a stimulus for broader global economic recovery. World trade in goods and services has declined by 12% since the onset of the financial crisis but according to the WTO although there has been renewed claims of a return to protectionism, fears of a tsunami of import controls have - by and large - proved to be wide of the mark.

“World trade has also been a casualty of this crisis, contracting in volume terms by around 12 per cent in 2009 — the sharpest decline since the end of the Second World War. The main explanation for this freefall in trade has been the simultaneous reduction in aggregate demand across all major world economies. The drying up of trade finance during this period has also been a contributing factor. To a much lesser degree, trade has been adversely affected by some instances of increased tariffs and domestic subsidies, new non-tariff measures and more anti-dumping actions.”

More here on the advantages of trade as a stimulus for economic recovery