31-07-2007 U.S. defiance of WTO rulings could damage WTO's credibility

While many industry experts believe Antigua will have to settle for a lot less than the $3.4 billion in compensation it demanded to the Unites States, Sallie James, Trade Policy Analyst at the Cato Institute, said the US decision to withdraw its commitments from the WTO could be extremely damaging to the organization's credibility and in the end cost the U.S. tens of billions of dollars in compensation to other WTO members on top of the $3.4 billion asked by Antigua.

Speaking at a policy forum on the importance of the Antigua/US dispute for the international trading system, James said a solution to the U.S. noncompliance with the WTO obligations may be found in the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act introduced by US Representative Barney Frank.

"This bill, once enacted, would bring the U.S. into compliance with WTO requirements by regulating Internet gambling and creating a level playing field among domestic and foreign Internet gambling operators," said James.

"The U.S. should act now to address this international trade violation and end its prohibition of Internet gambling," advised Jeffrey Sandman, representative of the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. "If the U.S. continues to prohibit Internet gambling, our country could wind up being forced to pay billions in trade compensation. However, if we move to regulate Internet gambling, we can develop a responsible policy solution that allows the U.S. to come into compliance with WTO requirements and give every American the right to make up their own mind whether to gamble online."