World Trade Organisation Plans For December

Antigua and Barbuda elevated its ongoing trade dispute with the United States concerning the cross border supply of gaming and betting services at the World Trade Organization’s General Council.

The twin island state through its delegate Joy-Marie King delivered what has been described as a brilliantly crafted and powerfully delivered statement which denounced the United States continued non-compliance on the matter.

In the statement which was delivered on the December 11, Antigua and Barbuda articulated the profound systemic threat that the continuation of this dispute and non-compliance of the rulings and recommendations of the DSB, pose to the WTO and its dispute settlement system.

The statement appropriately highlighted the grave economic fallout the small vulnerable economy has been experiencing due to the US non-compliance in the matter which has led to the virtual destruction of the Antiguan domestic online gaming sector.

Having heard the clarion call, the WTO’s developing country members stood in strong support of Antigua and Barbuda in gaining compliance on the matter and for its soonest resolution.

The support was illustrated through statements from various country groupings and individual members