20 years after seeking WTO-ordered restitution from the US, Antigua and Barbuda is still waiting for some form of compensation.
Antigua and Barbuda has indicated that resolving the ongoing and long-running gambling-related fight with the US over a World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling could take “another generation.”
In a recent interview with Observer Radio, Ambassador Lionel ‘Max’ Hurst, chief of staff in the Office of the Prime Minister, acknowledged that hopes for a resolution in the near future are diminishing, as little progress has been made despite years of efforts.
The dispute dates back to 2003 when the US took action against Antigua and Barbuda for offering online gambling services. The US argued that these services violated its laws, citing concerns about money laundering, fraud, and other criminal activities.
It also raised issues regarding the accessibility of online gambling to minors and vulnerable populations. In response, the US sought to prosecute any online gambling suppliers operating from the nation.
Antigua and Barbuda, however, disagreed with the US position and brought the case to the WTO in 2003. The Caribbean nation claimed that the US had violated the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), an agreement the WTO created in 1995 to regulate international trade in services.
The WTO sided with Antigua and Barbuda, granting it the right to withhold $21m annually in intellectual property (IP) rights held by US companies.
However, in 2018, Sir Ronald Sanders, Antigua and Barbuda’s ambassador to the US, stated that the country had incurred losses totalling $315m by that time — an amount exceeding a quarter of its annual gross domestic product.
WTO sides with Antigua
Even though the WTO had given Antigua and Barbuda authorisation to levy trade sanctions in order to recover its losses, the country decided to settle with the US. To date, however, as Ambassador Hurst confirmed, the country is still waiting for its payment.
Ambassador Hurst added that the country isn’t optimistic about receiving any type of compensation in the near future, either. He doesn’t see anything changing with the inauguration of President Donald Trump only a few days ago.
Antigua and Barbuda’s former ambassador to the United Nations also believes it will take “another generation” to get something done. He pointed out that the US is “not as generous as it once was.”
Dennis Shea, at the time US ambassador to the WTO, stated during a WTO meeting in 2018 that Antigua and Barbuda had presented “excessive demands” and emphasised that monetary compensation was not stipulated under the established rules.
The US had made multiple settlement proposals, but none was accepted.
Ambassador Sanders, however, argued that none of the US proposals came close to addressing even 1% of the damage inflicted.
He pointed out that the WTO’s dispute resolution system was designed to ensure that all member states, regardless of size, would have their rights safeguarded.
Hurst concluded, “We are moving forward. The United States is still our most important trading partner and we intend to continue to massage that relationship and that at some point the US will relent and provide us with the monies that they owe us.”