Come 3 April 2006, the United States should have taken the necessary steps to comply with a World Trade Organization ruling over online gambling. Antigua & Barbuda, the country that brought the case against the US, has pointed out that the only apparent movement on the matter has been the introduction in Congress of the Leach and Goodlatte bills. Both these bills, if passed, would be directly contrary to the ruling of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body.

It is suspected that the United States, in its frequently high-handed manner, will not exert itself to comply with any ruling that it considers is not in its interests, no matter which world body demands it. It is unfortunate that the WTO has no real teeth to make compliance mandatory, and that Antigua will have no further recourse to justice. In a statement to the WTO Dispute Settlement Body where the US was expected to explain the status of compliance efforts, the US Trade Representative said only that “the US administration, in consultation with Congress, has been working on appropriate steps to resolve this matter.”

The WTO ruling nearly one year ago allowed both sides at the time to claim victory. The organization’s top court partially overturned an earlier decision in Antigua’s favour, and the US then said it would be able to adjust its existing laws to meet the ruling. However, no such adjustment has yet been made. The Antiguan Ambassador this week stated, “ This case could prove to be a watershed for the WTO since it is the first time a small country has taken on a large country and won, begging the question - can the WTO represent the best interests of small countries or not?”

In less than two weeks the world will see whether, in the words of the Antiguan Ambassador, “the WTO agreements are to work for all of us, equally, or whether the WTO is a ‘one-way street’ for the large economies to further enrich themselves at the expense of lesser ones.” (E-03.23.06)

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