ROOM 518 of the Hotel Intercontinental in Geneva, Switzerland, was vacated earlier by its occupant, Mari Elka Pangestu. That Sunday two weeks ago the Indonesian Trade Minister decided to return to Jakarta one day earlier than originally planned.

She made the decision because the informal meeting of World Trade Organization (WTO) state ministers failed to reach an agreement. After three days, the 60 ministers could not formulate an import tariff cu