US to ignore WTO
In a decision that could have disastrous consequences for the future of the World Trade Organization the United States has plans to ignore the WTO’s recent ruling on the trade dispute between the Antigua and Barbuda and the USA, over online gaming restrictions.
In an surprising move US trade representatives are claiming they never meant for online gaming to be part of their services agreement with the WTO, and as a consequence do not plan to honor their pledge to open the online gaming market in the US to foreign providers. According to Mr. John Veroneau who is the Deputy US Trade Representative, the US is “just clarifying (its) commitments.”
Both countries are allowed to withdraw their commitments under WTO rules, this will be the first time any country has done so in the face of a lost trade dispute, and it could have severe consequences for the future of the WTO. If other member countries decide to follow suite whenever trade disputes don’t go their way, the WTO would become an irrelevant organization in world trade.
The position of the United States with regards to the online gambling ruling is further compromised by the fact that it DID have the chance to exempt gambling from its commitments when it first signed up to the WTO. According to Mark Mandel, Antigua’s chief counsel in the case against the US, there were widespread debates about gambling when the WTO was being set up and over a dozen countries ensured gambling was excluded from their commitments. The US was not one of them.
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In an surprising move US trade representatives are claiming they never meant for online gaming to be part of their services agreement with the WTO, and as a consequence do not plan to honor their pledge to open the online gaming market in the US to foreign providers. According to Mr. John Veroneau who is the Deputy US Trade Representative, the US is “just clarifying (its) commitments.”
Both countries are allowed to withdraw their commitments under WTO rules, this will be the first time any country has done so in the face of a lost trade dispute, and it could have severe consequences for the future of the WTO. If other member countries decide to follow suite whenever trade disputes don’t go their way, the WTO would become an irrelevant organization in world trade.
The position of the United States with regards to the online gambling ruling is further compromised by the fact that it DID have the chance to exempt gambling from its commitments when it first signed up to the WTO. According to Mark Mandel, Antigua’s chief counsel in the case against the US, there were widespread debates about gambling when the WTO was being set up and over a dozen countries ensured gambling was excluded from their commitments. The US was not one of them.
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posted by Glenn at Friday, May 18, 2007
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