23-08-2007 Microsoft to press the United States to negotiate a settlement with Antigua

Simon Lester, an expert in trade law disputes, told the New York Times that he expects software makers and the music industry to put pressure on Washington to work things out with Antigua, which asked the WTO to be allowed to ignore US trademark and copyright laws in retaliation to the United States decision to remove gambling services from existing trade agreements.

Mark Mendel, Antigua's head counsel in the WTO case against the US, commented: "This isn’t a case of forcing gambling on a population that has decided they don’t like it. This is the world’s biggest consumer and exporter of gambling services trying to prohibit a small country from developing its economy by offering these same services. And we find that deeply hypocritical."

In related news, the Wall Street Journal reports that EU and US negotiators are working out details of a compensation offer that will make it easier for European service companies to do business in the United States. EU gambling operators reported billions of euros in damages and lost income following the US ban on foreign gambling websites.