SOURCE: Antigua Sun

Mark Mendel, Antigua and Barbuda’s attorney in the Internet gambling trade dispute with the United States, has indicated that the decision by a World Trade Organisation (WTO) arbitrator to limit Antigua and Barbuda’s claim against the U.S. to US$21 million per year may not be final.

Speaking during a visit to Antigua last week, Mendel said there is a method through which the December arbitration decision could be reviewed.

Though there is not an automatic appeals process for such decisions, Mendel indicated that the decision was thought to be such a bad one that Antigua and Barbuda might be in a position to take the matter before the General Council of the WTO.

Antigua and Barbuda sought to claim US$3.4 billion per year in compensation from the U.S., but the arbitration panel limited that claim to losses related to bets on horse racing – a tiny portion of the gaming industry.

“Going to the General Council of the WTO (is) an action that has never been taken before. As I have mentioned, we seem to be groundbreakers over there in Geneva because a lot of what’s happened had never happened before. But we could do this and I’ve heard from other delegations in Geneva that there’s a lot of unhappiness with the financial end of the December decision. A lot of countries think, as I do, that it was not a very good decision so we could pursue that,” Mendel said.

The attorney, however, made it clear that no such decision has been taken, as the government continues another round of negotiations with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representatives and prepares for high-level meetings in Washington next month.

“Obviously, the longer litigation draws out and the more time we invest and that kind of stuff, it is not the perfect remedy if we can actually sit down with the Americans and come up with a fair and decent settlement."