ANTIGUA MAY BE ABLE TO SQUEEZE MORE COMPENSATION IN WTO DISPUTE

25 April 2008

Legal representative hints that the $21 million a year already awarded could be increased


The online gambling-rooted World Trade Organisation dispute with Antigua and Barbuda could turn out to be more expensive for the United States than is presently the case, says the islander's legal representative Mark Mendel in an interview with the Antigua Sun this week.

The astute lawyer, who has guided Antigua to success through several years of complicated WTO litigation, has indicated that the decision by a World Trade Organisation arbitrator to limit Antigua and Barbuda’s claim against the US to US$21 million per year may not be final.

Speaking during a visit to Antigua, Mendel said there is a process available through which the December 2007 arbitration decision might be reviewed. Though there is not an automatic appeals process for such decisions, Mendel revealed that the decision was thought to be so unjust that Antigua and Barbuda might be in a position to take the matter before the General Council of the WTO.
Antigua and Barbuda sought US$3.4 billion per year in compensation from the US, but the arbitration panel limited that claim to losses related to bets on online horse racing – a tiny portion of the overall Internet gambling industry and the costs of the US ban to the islands.

“Going to the General Council of the WTO (is) an action that has never been taken before, said Mendel. "....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.

However, Mendel cautioned that so far no such decision has been taken, as the government continues another round of negotiations with the Office of the US Trade Representative and prepares for yet more high-level meetings in Washington next month.

Mendel said that a fair and decent negotiated settlement with the United States remained the first prize and could obviate long drawn-out and expensive further litigation.

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