The Antigua government is going to be making a statement soon that will be along the lines of "...that a proposal for the resolution of the trade dispute received from the U.S. last week has not been met favorably", according to a report in the Antigua Sun.

According to offer by America that was delivered after a World Trade Organization (WTO) deadline had already passed was apparently discussed by the Antigua Cabinet but was not well received. In an interview with the Antigua Sun, the Caribbean nation's Minister of Finance and Economy, Dr. Errol Cort confirmed that he had forwarded a settlement proposal to the US Trade Represenitive Ambassador Susan Schwab last January.

In the proposal, Antigua and Barbuda both agreed that they would hold off on arbitration proceedings at the WTO until the end of March to give the United States time to study the proposal. The Minister was being cautions but he hinted at an impending joint statement with the US Trade Representative as a result on the proposal.

In there isn't a joint statement forthcoming the Antigua government will be issuing their own in dependant statement. Minister Cort said, "However, the U.S. and ourselves are seeking to agree on the press statement that would follow the decisions on both sides, in terms of how the matter will be handled."

Antigua and Barbuda are seeking compensation from the US through the WTO as the US tries to withdraw from WTO commitments that are aimed at providing market access to their online gambling sector. Antigua's economy is heavily dependant on the online gaming revenues they get so they are now seeking compensation from the US.

The US blocked access of their online gambling markets with their controversial UIGEA legislation that has badly hurt the profitability of many online bingo game operators and online bingo halls that aren't based in the US.








- 2008-04-10