The bilateral visit to Washington, DC by Premier Dr. Ewart Brown, Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Paula Cox and US Consul General Gregory Slayton appears to have been successful.

Although, almost by definition, these kids of trips largely consist of "meet and greets" in which the Bermuda delegates are able to ensure Bermuda is kept on the map, two major achievements were trumpeted.

Of the two, the statement that Rep. Charles Rangel, the chairman of the important House Ways and Means Committee, have said Bermuda was not among the offshore financial centres that the US would be targeting as it bids to close tax loopholes was the most important.

Rep. Rangel, as chairman of the tax-writing committee in the House of Representatives, has a great deal of say in this area, and his pledge as a Democrat is doubly important because his party has traditionally frowned on offshore financial centres.

This does not mean that Bermuda is in the clear entirely. It is still up to Bermuda to ensure that it is a clean and responsible jurisdiction which does not welcome fraudsters, money launderers and the like.

And it is also important to show, as Minister Cox and the reinsurance sector in particular have done — how vital the Bermuda market is to the financial security of the US.

Finally, Bermuda must show that its own Government institutions are transparent, free of corruption and stable, and for that reason alone, it is important that Dr. Brown answer recent allegations concerning the Bermuda Housing Corporation which, along with the recent controversy with Government House, must have overshadowed the visit.

Nonetheless, last week's trip was vitally important for getting that pledge from Rep. Rangel, and it shows how important it is to keep building and maintaining relationships with US lawmakers and members of the White House.

The second pledge by Rep. Rangel sounded good, but may be of less value. That was the promise by the Congressman that if a Democrat won the US presidential election in 2008, talks over the environmental clean-up of the former US Bases could be re-opened.

This seems unlikely given that the Government has already signed off a deal with the US, and on the face of it, it seems unlikely that the US Department of Defense would be willing to revisit it.

It is no secret that the US was very unwilling to come to any kind of deal relating to an environmental clean-up because it would set a costly precedent with every country around the world where the US had or has bases.

That's not to say that Bermuda got a good deal. This newspaper has been consistent on the point that Bermuda could have done a lot better than $11 million, ostensibly for Longbird Bridge, but the fact is that it is a done deal and it is surprising to see the Government now trying to renegotiate when the whole Cabinet — including Dr. Brown and Ms Cox — were apparently content then.

Most importantly, Rep. Rangel is undoubtedly an influential Democrat, but he must inevitably have less influence over the Pentagon than he has over the tax writing committees, even assuming that a Democratic candidate takes the White House in 2008. So, on the face of it, this commitment seems to be less promising than Rep. Rangel's statements on taxation.

All of that aside, it is clear that this Washington visit, like last year's when Alex Scott was Premier, was worthwhile and credit must go to Mr. Slayton as well as to Dr. Brown and Ms Cox for helping to improve ties between the US and Bermuda governments.