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| Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer of Antigua and Barbuda (left) and President George W Bush of the United States of America (Photo: White House) | |
WASHINGTON DC, June 25, 2007 - The smiles were either a formality or disbelief as Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer of Antigua and Barbuda met with President George W Bush and served him the news first hand that he is preparing US$3.4 billion in sanctions against Washington for failure to adhere to a trade ruling.
"We were able to highlight the importance of the Financial Services Sector to our economy and we were very clear in pointing out to the American Administration that Antigua and Barbuda is not looking for a fight, but we believe that the issues can be addressed in meaningful discussions," Spencer told a Diaspora meeting at the country's embassy in Washington DC on the weekend.
The United States banned Internet gambling which effectively shutdown many online businesses which traded in the USA including some which operated from Antigua and Barbuda. The twin-island federation complained to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which found in 2004 that the US ban represented an "arbitrary and unjustifiable discrimination between countries" and was a "disguised restriction on trade" and ordered Washington to rectify the matter. The Bush Administration refused. While it permitted gambling within the United States it argued that it never intended to include cross-border gambling as a feature of trade and so they made an error.
The Spencer Administration has relentlessly pursued the matter, backing the United States into the proverbial corner. In response the US maintaining its claim of unintentionally including cross-border gambling in its trade pact, has modified its multilateral commitments so as to explicitly exclude Internet gambling.
Antigua and Barbuda has not only filed claims for damages but also encouraged other WTO members to do the same. Several others including EU, India, Japan, Costa Rica were expected to file at last Friday's deadline.
Meantime Antigua and Barbuda has announced its sanctions against the USA specifically by withdrawing intellectual property protection for US trademarks, patents and industrial designs worth up to US$3.4 billion in order to recover the amount it has lost in revenue.
"We feel we have no other choice in the matter, we have fought long and hard for fair access to the US market and have won at every stage of the WTO process," said Finance Minister Errol Cort. "Until such time as the United States is willing to work with us on achieving a reasonable solution to this trade dispute, we will continue to use every legitimate remedy available to protect the interests of our citizens."
According to reports, the US is now willing to consider a solution with Antigua and Barbuda but not with other countries filing claim on Friday.
Antigua and Barbuda has filed claim saying that its revenue from Internet gambling had dropped from US$1 billion annually to US$130 million as a result of the US action.
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