Deputy United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador John Veroneau is expected to arrive in Antigua and Barbuda today to begin high-level talks with Minister of Finance and the Economy, Dr. Errol Cort, on the longstanding trade battle between the two countries over internet gambling. According to a statement released yesterday by the Ministry of Finance, Ambassador Veroneau will lead a six-member high-level delegation from the United States...

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) was informed yesterday that Antigua and Barbuda and the United States had agreed to another deferral of arbitration proceedings, as the two countries seek to finalise a bilateral agreement that would bring years of conflict over the Internet gambling industry to an end. Minister of Finance and the Economy Dr. Errol Cort yesterday told the Antigua Sun that the parties have agreed to a further extension of their talks to 11 July.

It may have been offered after the World Trade Organization deadline, but it appears that the United States has at last proposed a settlement in its protracted WTO dispute with the Antigua and Barbuda government. The Antigua Sun newspaper is currently reporting that the Caribbean island government is soon to make a statement "...that a proposal for the resolution of the trade dispute received from the U.S. last week has not been met favourably."

The deadline for the US to put forward a proposal to settle its long running Internet gambling dispute passed last Monday with Antigua and Barbuda reportedly receiving no word from the US. Up to late last Monday, neither Antigua and Barbuda's attorney in the matter Mark Mendel nor the local Directorate of Gaming had received any communication on the matter from US officials.

A settlement proposal due by the end of the month could put an end to the five-year trade battle over Internet gaming between Antigua and Barbuda and the United States. According to Mark Mendel, Antigua and Barbuda’s attorney in its World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute, the US is scheduled to put forward a proposal for the settlement of both aspects of the trade dispute by next Monday.

The international Internet gambling dispute continues. Costa Rica and Antigua separately filed for World Trade Organization arbitration, seeking compensation from the United States as a result of the US withdrawal of its commitment on cross-border gambling services. The new arbitration requests could potentially derail the settlement for compensation agreed to late last year by the US and the EU.

In Britain, the Gambling Commission has announced that the Canadian First Nation enclave of Kahnawake along with Antigua are not to be white-listed for the purposes of advertising online gambling services in the UK. The Kahnawake licensing jurisdiction is home for hundreds of online gambling companies and the Gambling Commission gave no specific reason for the rejection.

Washington: Antigua and Barbuda's Minister of Finance and the Economy Dr Errol Cort held wide ranging discussions on the internet gaming dispute in Washington on Thursday with his ministerial counterpart from the Office of the US Trade Representative, Ambassador Susan Schwab. "Clearly this is first and foremost about establishing lines of communication at the government-to-government level.

In a surprise move, the United States has “advised” Antigua and Barbuda to delay taking any action after being awarded USD 21 million in annual trade sanctions by a World Trade Organisation (WTO) arbitration panel earlier this month. According to the Associated Press news agency, US Trade Representative Spokesman Sean Spicer stated that the tiny Caribbean island nation should wait to implement any sanctions pending American changes to its international trade obligations under the WTO treaty.

The United States Friday urged Antigua to hold off on imposing sanctions authorized by the WTO in a dispute over online gambling, saying Washington was revising its WTO commitments. US Trade Representative (USTR) spokesman Sean Spicer advised Antigua to delay any action after an arbitrator for the Geneva-based World Trade Organization allowed the Caribbean nation to impose sanctions worth USD 21 million a year, with the right to target US services, copyrights and trademarks.

Antigua and Barbuda’s prime minister says he is hopeful that weekend meetings with members of the U.S. Congress would help resolve an ongoing trade battle with the United States over Internet gambling. Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer discussed the dispute with New York Democrat Representative Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and three other members of the Congressional Black Caucus Sunday on the sidelines of a regional business conference.

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.