THOSE who would portray the chief minister’s latest visit to Washington DC as an expensive ‘jolly’ should contemplate exactly what the four-day trip entailed.

An early morning seven-hour economy flight over a bank holiday weekend to the US capital may sound tolerable. But on landing, instead of a trip to the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian stretching out before you, there are more than a dozen intense meetings dealing with such riveting subjects as international tax agreements and the finer points of difference between tax avoidance and evasion.

After a bit of coffee and chit-chat, the besuited men and women of such august bodies as the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will want to get down to brass tacks. That means that the slightest lapse of knowledge or focus will reflect badly on you, your colleagues and, ultimately, your island. Jet lag won’t wash as an excuse.

And once that day’s meetings are over, reality strikes that while the hotel pool, gym and bar looked enticing on the website, it is the hotel bed which beckons most strongly.

Nobody forced anybody to go, of course, but, while there might be some legitimate grumblings about the business ethics of the trip to Shanghai in October, the PR value of keeping the US on side cannot be doubted.

Direct business between the island and the US is minimal, but the G20 summit and the world’s reaction to Barack Obama’s election as President show where true global power still lies.

Were the Bailiwick to allow America to form a concrete impression of the island as a troublesome tax haven, it is clear much of the world – including perhaps the UK – would bear that in mind in their dealings with us.

So while the island’s OECD white-listing is prominent in governments’ minds, this was the perfect time to hammer home the message that the island complies with international tax agreements and works hard on the transparency demanded by the G20.

It may not have been a jolly, but the chief minister can at least return from this trip with a smile on his face.