Antigua protested U.S. efforts to outlaw Internet gambling

[bigboydan]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tiny Antigua protested on Friday new U.S. efforts to outlaw Internet gambling and complained the United States had done nothing to implement a World Trade Organization ruling against current restrictions.

The Caribbean state, with a population of 67,000, has been trying to build up its Internet gambling industry as a way to make up for sharply declining tourism revenues.

It has collided in that effort with the United States, where federal law bars the placing of bets across state lines by electronic means.

Antigua challenged that ban in 2003 as a violation of service sector commitments the United States made when the WTO was formed in 1995.

Both sides claimed victory after the WTO Appellate Body released a final decision in the case in April 2005.

In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman released on Friday, Antigua's ambassador to the WTO, John Ashe, expressed concern about two U.S. legislative proposals to outlaw the $12 billion Internet gambling industry.

"Each of the bills is in key respects expressly contrary to the rulings and the recommendations of the Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade Organization," Ashe said.

He also complained the United States had made no move to comply with the April 2005 ruling.

"As of today, with less than two months remaining on an 11-month and two week compliance period, to our knowledge no legislation has been introduced into the Congress that would seek to bring the United States into compliance," Ashe said.

The United States argued in the WTO case that it never meant its services liberalization to include gambling, and that, in any case, WTO rules allowed states to restrict trade on moral grounds.

The Appellate Body accepted much of the U.S. reasoning. But it said that when it came to betting on horse racing, there appeared to be discrimination between foreign and local operators, which violated trade rules and had to stop.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID=2006-02-17T225127Z_01_N17300170_RTRUKOC_0_US-TRADE-GAMBLING-WTO.xml

[BuddyBear]

I would say Antigua is winning right now

[JC]

This is from Antigua's press release. If I get a copy of the actual letter from Antigua ot the US I will post it.

PRESS RELEASE

ANTIGUA PROTESTS ANTI-GAMBLING LEGISLATION


The Government of Antigua and Barbuda has sent a letter to Rob Portman, the United States Trade Representative, in response to recent legislation introduced in the United States Congress regarding Internet gambling. In 2005, Antigua won a case against the United States in the World Trade Organization over the US prohibition on Internet gambling services offered to American consumers from Antigua, and under WTO procedures the United States was given until 3 April 2006 to bring its laws into compliance with the WTO decision.

However, the only legislation introduced into the Congress to date have been bills sponsored by Congressmen Jim Leach (R-Iowa) and Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia), both of which seek to impose further restrictions on Internet gambling. In his letter of 16 February 2006 to Ambassador Portman, the Antiguan Ambassador to the WTO Dr. John W. Ashe notes that both pieces of legislation are in a number of respects directly contrary to the ruling of the WTO in the gambling dispute.

“As of today,” noted Ambassador Ashe, “with less than two months remaining on an 11 month and two week compliance period, to our knowledge no legislation has been introduced into the Congress that would seek to bring the United States into compliance with the [WTO] recommendations. Further, your government has given no indication to Antigua and Barbuda as to how the United States intends to effect such compliance. The only legislative efforts so far, the Goodlatte Bill and the Leach Bill, are baldly contrary to the rulings and recommendations of the [WTO]. We can only assume that this legislation was neither sponsored by nor enjoys the support of the USTR and the current American administration.”

Mark Mendel, lead counsel representing Antigua in the WTO case, observed that the exceptions to the Internet gambling prohibition contained in both of the bills highlight the discriminatory trade effect of the United States prohibition on the cross-border provision of gambling and betting services into the US. “By creating carve-outs for certain domestic remote gambling opportunities, including in particular wholly-intrastate remote gambling, both of these pieces of legislation fly directly in the face of the WTO ruling. The economic basis of the US restrictions simply cannot be more obvious.”

Ambassador Ashe further expressed his country’s commitment to the case, noting “Antigua and Barbuda stand prepared to ensure that our people reap the benefits of this historic decision. We will use every avenue open to us at the WTO and otherwise to see that the United States complies with the decision in a timely and comprehensive manner. As always however, we encourage the United States government to engage with Antigua and Barbuda directly to craft a workable solution to our dispute that addresses the concerns of both nations.”