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Arbitration for Antigua, US in gaming dispute Tue June 07 2005
taken from the antigua sunMinister of Finance and the Economy is disappointed, but not dissuaded by the ongoing struggle to gain US compliance with the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) appellate body’s final ruling on the Internet gaming issue.
In an interview with the SUN yesterday, Dr. Errol Cort said Antigua & Barbuda would trigger the arbitration process in the WTO which would determine “a reasonable timeframe within which the US is expected to comply with the WTO ruling.”
He reported that last Friday’s meeting in Washington between the Antigua & Barbuda and US delegations ended with neither party able to make any real progress on the way forward. Antigua & Barbuda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Ambassador to the WTO Dr. John Ashe and Lead Lawyer Mark Mendel (OAS) comprised the Antigua delegation.
Though the minister said he would not be able to go into the particulars of the discussion, he admitted Antigua & Barbuda was now forced to trigger the arbitration process.
When the minister had travelled to Geneva earlier last month he had reported that the US had accepted the WTO ruling, but the measure of acceptance and US interpretation of the ruling remained matters to be determined.
The minister called the recent development “regrettable” and added that he was disappointed since he had hoped that the two parties would able to meet bilaterally and agree on the particulars.
“We now have to go back to the WTO and follow the matter through,” he said. “(But) We are not dissuaded in this matter and we will be pressing ahead and using all available channels to ensure that the ruling is fully implemented by the US in accordance with our interpretation of the ruling,” Dr. Cort stressed.
However, spokesman for the Antigua & Barbuda Offshore Gaming Association Ron Maginley did not express disappointment, but considered the process of arbitration “a good move for it promises the fastest path towards resolution.
“Under the process of binding arbitration, representation will be made to a WTO panel and then a binding decision is then made in 30 days. This is fast track way of getting a resolution and the US will be required to adhere to the decision,” he explained.
Maginley further noted that once this decision was ratified, Antigua & Barbuda could look forward to “a speedy implementation by the US and all licensees can begin to have the access that they expect.”
When the WTO final ruling on cross-boarder Internet gaming was announced in April both Antigua & Barbuda and the US claimed victory.
Antigua has maintained its claim that the US is required to change its laws and allow access of its residents to US credit card and banking facilities to conduct transactions with the Antigua-based Internet gaming companies.
