SOURCE: ab.gov.ag via www.carribeanpressreleases.com

(Geneva, CHE) – The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) unanimously adopted on Tuesday the report of its compliance that, among other things, found the United States had failed to comply with the original rulings and recommendations which were previously adopted by the DSB, in the ongoing dispute over the cross-boarder provision of gambling and betting services by Antiguan providers to consumers in the United States.

"It is somewhat unfortunate that previous reports in our dispute had left considerable uncertainty and ambiguity in the minds of some and were exploited for those purposes by others. This time around, though, I am extremely pleased that the compliance panel did not leave any room whatsoever for anyone, lest of all the United States, to misconstrue or obfuscate the conclusions of this report," said the Honourable Dr. Errol Cort, Minister of Finance and the Economy, who has responsibility for this matter.

The Minister highlighted a number of key findings of the compliance panel which he thought may have contributed to the US' decision not to further appeal the case. These include: (a) the acknowledgement by the panel that the U.S. has a flourishing domestic, remote gambling industry which is licenced and regulated by a number of States but which offer identical services to those from Antigua operators; (b) the fact that the U.S. government only seeks to prosecute foreign operators; and (c) recent U.S. legislation that criminalizes financial transactions for “unlawful internet gambling” only applies for foreign remote gambling and exempts a number of its domestic remote gambling operations.

Having announced that its will accept the findings of the panel, the U.S. jolted the entire WTO membership with its subsequent announcement on 4 May that it will withdraw its commitment for gambling and betting services under what is known as "Article 21" of the GATS agreement.

"This astounding and unprecedented action by the U.S. opens up a whole new chapter in the WTO jurisprudence, which runs contrary to the object and purpose of the GATS, the DSU and other WTO agreements," said the Minister.

He went on further to stressed that, in light of this latest development by the U.S., his government will be examining the various options available to it with a view to identifying the most appropriate course of action.

In his address to the DSB, Antigua and Barbuda's Ambassador to the WTO, Dr. John W. Ashe, noted that this latest move by the U.S. flies “in the face of the concept of liberalization that is embodied in the GATS and the current Doha Round, and is contrary to these objectives."

"Moreover, it is difficult to see how the U.S. can, on the one hand, encourage and perhaps insist that other WTO members expand their commitments in services while simultaneously erecting a new barrier to trade in services from other members. This is particularly so when one considers that the American component of the remote gambling industry is estimated to be in excess of U.S. $10 billion annually," he said.

In his response to this latest move by the U.S., Antigua and Barbuda's legal adviser, Mark Mendel, noted that, in his view, the dispute has been resolved and the U.S. remains obligated to comply.

"The dispute is settled and Antigua is entitled to and will be expecting market access. If the U.S. wants to try and shut out potential future liability to other WTO members, it is welcome to try," he said.

"What must get lost in the shuffle, though, is the simple fact that the U.S. has a large, sanctioned domestic industry. If it was seeking to withdraw its commitment due to a strong anti-gambling culture, this would be understandable. However, this is certainly not the case here: it is seeking to withdraw this commitment simply to erect a trade barrier to foreign competition in order to protect and enhance its own, flourishing domestic gambling and betting industry," he added.

The DSB also heard statements from the representatives of the European Communities, Brazil and India, who all called on the U.S. to exercise the greatest of caution before proceeding with its stated plan to seek a change in its Article 21 commitment.