Antigua – Barbuda vs US

Antigua – Barbuda and the US are headed for arbitration. Dr. L. Errol Cort, Antigua and Barbados, Finance Minister, has said that the hearing is scheduled for October 18. In a document submitted before, Antigua argues that the US was fully aware of its international gambling agreements with the WTO at the time that they were drafted and put into practice, and had specifically supported Antigua in its gaming industry development. (Prior to 1998, the United States government even supported Antigua in its development and supervision of the remote gaming industry. As Antigua brought to the table in the Original Proceeding, as late as September 1997 senior officials with the United States government clearly did not believe that the provision of these services from Antigua were illegal, and relatively high-level officials engaged with Antiguan officials in suggestions to improve the regulation of gaming companies). The document also devotes itself to explaining why the lifting of copyright law is the only possible way, short of the US agreeing to follow its original commitments, for Antigua to reclaim its loss of over $3.4 billion annually. October 18 arbitration will set the stage for a global response, particularly from the European Union, to the US decision to renege on its WTO commitments.

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