US 'should be pressured to comply with WTO ruling'

2007-03-14 17:12:35

The United States should be pressured into complying with a recent WTO ruling that adjudged its gambling laws to be in violation of international trade agreements, it has been suggested.

The communications division of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) organisation made the recommendation as part of Antigua's ongoing dispute with the US over the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

The organisation's report suggests that, in light of Antigua's lack of bargaining power, alternative strategies should be sought to encourage compliance.

"These include closer collaboration with sympathetic countries which have greater trade and negotiation resources and more political clout, such as Brazil and China," the report highlighted.

A question of what such rulings meant if they were not enforceable was also raised by the CRNM.

"As the persistence of the behaviour of the US implies, the rules of international trade may have little effect on the dynamics of power that still characterise the interactions of sovereign states. A philosophical question is presented here &ndash To what extent can international law really govern the behaviour of sovereign states?" added the report.


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