One of the key themes of this book is the enduring importance of the multilateral trade system, especially for a small state like Australia. Yet, judging by much of the contemporary Australian debate on the current institutional arrangements that underpin the system, there appears to be little appreciation of the history and purpose of multilateralism in trade. This lack of appreciation among ordinary citizens, evident in many of the submissions to the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties inquiry into Australia's relationship with the WTO, is understandable. After all, trade issues get scant media coverage unless there is a controversial story to report, and many Australians would not have heard of the WTO prior to the Seattle protests. Moreover, the Howard government has done very little to promote public understanding about the benefits of the global trade system for Australia. Instead, this task has been left, by default, in the hands of business leaders and producer groups who naturally reflect their own vested interests.

The dispute over Australia's quarantine restrictions on salmon imports was a case in point of the government's inability – or unwillingness – to explain the benefits of the multilateral system. In February 2000 the WTO ruled that Australia's quarantine prohibition on raw salmon imports was not based on a scientific risk assessment, and therefore contravened its obligations under the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement.