WTO COMPENSATION CASE LANGUISHING, SAYS ANTIGUA LAWYER (Update)

9 November 2007

"I think they are having a difficult time not only with us but with the EC."


Referring to the December 14 delay in making decisions on its World Trade Organisation claim for compensation against the United States (see previous InfoPowa reports) Antigua's lawyer Mark Mendel surmises that this may be caused by difficulties in negotiating a European Union deal.

Speaking to the Antigua Sun on the issue this week, Mendel said compensation negotiations were originally to be completed in September, but were first extended to October, then November 30 and currently into December.

Mendel said the issue was languishing - possibly because the Americans were having difficulties in reaching a deal with the 27 nation European Union which reportedly has demanded compensation worth billions of dollars. "I think its presenting them with more problems than they expected, although why they didn’t expect more problems I don’t understand,” he said.

The European Union, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Macao and Japan have joined Antigua and Barbuda in filing claims. Mendel said that the process is not an easy one for the US. Thus far, he said, the Americans have been able to conclude a deal with Australia and may have reached an agreement with Japan. The other negotiations remain outstanding.

“Really, I think everything is stalled and I’m not precisely sure where it’s going to go,” Mendel said. The arbitration ruling on a separate claim by Antigua and Barbuda for US$3.4 billion in compensation for the non-compliance by the US with an earlier WTO ruling is scheduled to be released at the end of this month. Mendel expressed the opinion that that ruling is likely to have a major impact on the negotiations with other nations.

“If we get a pretty sizable figure, I think the European Community will be encouraged to take an even stronger line,” he said.

Meanwhile in Geneva, the Antiguan Finance Minister Dr. Errol Court kept the pressure on at a WTO trade policy review for the members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

Minister Court told the review meeting that recent actions by the United States undermine the credibility of the body.

During his presentation, Dr. Cort stressed that the United States’ failure to comply with the WTO rulings and its announcement that it intends to withdraw its commitments in Internet gaming “undermines the credibility of the WTO system and may prove what some developing countries have feared; that the system only works to the benefit of the countries that are rich, large or powerful.”

He noted that the country’s diversification policy has not been without challenges, since service providers face substantial barriers to trade. As an example of this, he addressed the issue of Internet gaming and the impact the United States’ restrictions on the cross-border provision of these services has had on the sector.

Antigua and Barbuda has pledged continued commitment to the WTO’s multilateral process, despite what Dr. Cort described as the country’s “limited financial, human, technical and other resources, all of which exacerbate the challenge of implementing WTO agreements.”

Dr. Cort indicated that, notwithstanding the challenges, Antigua and Barbuda believes that trade should be a tool for sustainable growth, development and poverty reduction.

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