Antigua is readying its case against the U.S. in a
World Trade dispute that will get a final ruling by January or February of next
year. Stemming from a U.S. imposed ban on online casinos regulated in Antigua,
the dispute has now been further compounded by the recent actions of the U.S. to
ban online gambling on a Federal level. Following submissions next week by third
parties supporting Antigua's case, which include several powerhouse nations from
the European Union, as well as China and Japan, the U.S. submission is expected
to receive a rebuttal by Antigua, which in turn, would likely receive a rebuttal
from the U.S.
Antigua recently held several
consultations with delegates from other nations who apparently are backing
Antigua all the way. Dr. Errol Cort, who is the Minister of Finance and the
Economy in Antigua, has been at the helm of these consultations, which he says
have been opportune moments to address their case against the U.S. Regardless of
the recent legislation signed into law by President Bush, much of Antigua's case
pertains to what the OECS Technical Mission says is a "systemic issue...going to
the raison d'etre of the WTO's existence." In other words, if the U.S. is
allowed to get away with their blatant disregard of a ruling by the WTO's
Dispute Settlement Body, smaller countries would have no economic protection
whatsoever under the dominion of the World Trade Organization.
The U.S., however, claims they
are in compliance with the ruling of the dispute panel. Antigua's legal adviser,
Mark Mendel begs to differ. He says the U.S. ignored these rulings, and then
proceeded to claim they needed more time to implement the recommendations by the
WTO, which they did not even attempt to do. They dragged out the case as long as
could (for nearly a year) and then arbitrarily announced they were in compliance
with the WTO regulations to begin with.
Online casino gambling accounts
for a large portion of revenue sustaining Antigua's economy. Many other smaller
countries - primarily in the Caribbean - likewise depend on business exchanges
with the U.S. Many fear that if the U.S is allowed to go unchecked by the
rulings of the WTO, smaller countries like Jamaica, Brazil, Barbados and
Trinidad and Tobago (whom Antigua also recently met with to gain support), may
very well be at the mercy of a U.S. government that does whatever it pleases -
even if that means negatively impacting the economy of a struggling country.
