Antigua trade attorney expects compensation ruling this month

The victorious trade attorney for Antigua and Barbuda in its World Trade Organisation (WTO) case against the United States has announced that he expects a decision on the tiny nation’s compensation claim by the end of the month.

Mark Mendel led the legal team that successfully pled the tiny Caribbean nation’s case against the US over its protectionist Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) legislation passed in late last year.

The next step for the Texas-based attorney was to argue in front of a three-person WTO panel that the nation should receive USD 3.4 billion in damages for lost revenues as a result of the US prohibition. The White House has countered by stating that it would pay USD 500,000 at most in compensation because Antigua’s original claim is more than its entire yearly economy.

Antigua’s claim is most likely to be paid out by the suspension of its copyright, trademark, industrial design and patent obligations to the US and Mendel, who was born in Europe but moved to the US when he was a child, stated that a final decision is expected by November 30.

“We haven’t fully and completely flushed out precisely what we’re going to do or how we’re going to do it,” said Mendel. “There is no rush to do it. I think once we get it, it’ll be a pretty big weapon in our hands and we can take our time in deciding how to apply it.”