The legal representative of Antigua and Barbuda, Mark Mendel, said in an interview with the Antigua Sun this week that the online gambling-rooted World Trade Organization dispute could turn out to be more expensive for the United States than is presently the case. According to the lawyer who has guided Antigua to success through several years of complicated WTO litigation, the decision by a World Trade Organization arbitrator to limit Antigua and Barbuda’s claim against the US to US$21 million per year may not be final.

Mendel was speaking during a visit to Antigua, and said, “There is a process available through which the December 2007 arbitration decision might be reviewed. There is no automatic appeals process for such decisions.”

Mendel added that the decision was thought to be so unjust that Antigua and Barbuda might be in a position to take the matter before the General Council of the WTO. In its original claim, Antigua and Barbuda sought US$3.4 billion per year in compensation from the US, but the arbitration panel limited that claim to losses related to bets on online horse racing – a tiny portion of the overall Internet gambling industry and the costs of the US ban to the islands.

“No one has ever gone to the General Council of the WTO before. It is an action that has never been taken,” said Mendel. "We seem to be groundbreakers over there in Geneva because a lot of what’s happened has no precedent. But we could do this and I’ve heard from other delegations in Geneva that there’s a lot of unhappiness with the financial end of the December decision. A lot of countries think, as I do, that it was not a very good decision so we could pursue that.” Mendel cautioned that so far no such decision has been taken, as the government continues another round of negotiations with the Office of the US Trade Representative and prepares for further high-level meetings in Washington.

Mendel said, “A fair and decent settlement with the United States remains the goal and could obviate long drawn-out and expensive further hearings.”

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