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After more than a decade of negotiations that have, to this point, proven fruitless, the Caribbean countries of Antigua and Barbuda are preparing to enact their rights to “even the playing field” with the United States over its stance regarding online poker and gaming.

Earlier this summer, the governments of Antigua and Barbuda received an offer from U. S. trade authorities that Prime Minister Gaston Browne felt was “paltry,” and fired back with a counteroffer to the U. S. officials. That counteroffer was summarily rejected by the U. S., prompting Browne, to state to the Antigua Observer, “We will never accept any one-sided agreement in which they treat us with contempt, and in which they fail to settle the issue in meaningful manner. We’re hoping that as a result of that proposal we’ll be able to come to a mutually satisfactory agreement.”

The losses for U. S. trade wouldn’t be significant, but the enactment of a ruling by an international body against the U. S. would be an embarrassment.

Way back in 2003 in reaction to the U. S. stance regarding online gaming and poker (and its attempts to prevent its citizens from participating in those gaming options), Antigua and Barbuda filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO, the international arbiter for trade complaints between member nations (and one that the U. S. has used extensively in protecting copyright issues), determined in 2007 that the U. S. was in violation of the organizations trade guidelines and ruled that the country would have to allow its citizens access to the online gaming sites from Antigua and Barbuda. But instead of improving issues through negotiation or even following the dictate of the WTO, the U. S. made matters worse.

Following the ruling from the WTO, the U. S. basically ignored the decision and continued to try to block its citizens from accessing online gaming and poker sites. When it became apparent that the U. S. wasn’t going to comply with the WTO’s decision, Antigua and Barbuda trade officials requested compensation for the lack of business from the U. S. and the WTO agreed to the tune of $21 million per year, a total that has now reached more than $210 million. To enable Antigua and Barbuda to recoup this money, the WTO would allow the two countries to violate U. S. digital copyrights, such as offering downloads of Hollywood films, network or cable television shows or pop, rock or country music to customers without compensating the U. S. companies or the government.

For its part, the U. S. has wavered between using the WTO as a sledgehammer to implement its own views on international trade and threatening to withdraw from the organization, which would remove authenticity from the group. U. S. membership with the WTO ensures that there is a level trading field when it comes to international actions, which keeps the doors open for not only U. S. but also other international players. It also is a deterrent to countries implementing damaging trade barriers that would inhibit international trade.

On the other hand, the U. S. House of Representatives votes every five years on whether to remain a member of the WTO and interest has increased since it was founded in 1995 in withdrawing from the group. Originally led by former Texas Representative and Libertarian Ron Paul, 56 members voted against staying in the group in 2000 and 86 in 2005 (it has apparently passed with little fanfare for the last two cycles). Additionally, the U. S has been upset with rulings from particular trade leaders that have been appointed to different boards with the WTO, to the point of calling for the dismissal of some of those leaders and using their massive trade bulk (and threats of leaving) to kowtow the WTO into line.

There is some light still breaking through the window for a settlement between the U. S. and the two Caribbean countries, but it is obvious that both Antigua and Barbuda have gotten a bit tired of the “runaround” from U. S. government officials and are ready to do something about it.

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