U.S. Continues to Diss Antigua Over Online Gambling
Continuing to nonchalantly disrespect both Antigua and the World Trade Organization, the United States has sent a team of negotiators to Antigua to determine the form the penalty placed upon the U.S. for banning online gambling will take, only days after the twice-extended deadline to resolve the dispute has expired.
John Veroneau, Deputy United States Trade Representative, arrived in Antigua today as part of a six-man delegation. Their mission is to conduct talks with Antiguan Minister of Finance Dr. Errol Cort regarding the judgement passed against the U.S. by the WTO for damages done to Antgiua by shutting out its online casino industry.
Even though the suit against the U.S. requesting billions in damages annually was reduced by the WTO to a paltry $21 million, the United States has casually let deadline after deadline pass, ignoring the chance that Antigua might press its case on to the World Court.
Antigua has shown that, even though the limbo was invented on Trinidad, it is also a master of bending over backward a la the island dance. Despite continual U.S. arrogance, Dr. Cort seems to feel discussions may make progress this time.
Although Cort said he would not know if the two countries were close to a settlement on the online gambling issue, he did act encouraged by the arrival of Veroneau.
"It is far past time for the U.S. to take responsibility for its protectionist violation of trade and make good on its debt to Antigua," said Online Casino Advisory analyst, Sherman Bradley. "If the U.S. does not want a growing list of annual payments, some threatening to be much larger than Antigua's," Bradley said, "they had best consider repealing the UIGEA."
