United States Low Ball Antigua Over Poker Ban

Pertaining to the claim, the United States has maintained the position that the requested 3.4 billion dollar estimate is unreasonable and too high. "The level of Antigua's nullification and impairment should be roughly half a million, and certainly no greater than approximately $3 million per year in lost exports of gambling services," the United States argued in a 25-page written brief to the WTO last week. One of the United States Trade Representative's claims is that Antigua and Barbuda's $3.4 billion claim is nearly four times bigger than the small nation's complete economy, thus "wildly out of line with any realistic figure."

Antigua and Barbuda submitted a methodology report previously justifying the $3.4 billion figure in its claim. According to the Antigua Sun, a recognized national newspaper, Mark Mendel, Antigua and Barbuda's WTO attorney, didn't discuss details of the U.S. response, but said he remains confident in the strength of his nation's position. Mendel is currently focused on preparing for the next brief to be filed with the WTO on Oct. 4 as Antigua and Barbuda request authorization to enforce sanction. The nation is looking for reproduction rights of copyrighted material produced in the United States to get its compensation.

The negotiations between the two nations in relation to the United States' planned pulling out from WTO commitments as regards to online gambling are ongoing. The deadline had been Saturday, but both sides agreed to a 30-day extension.

"I think they are now coming to a recognition that they have a big problem with us, and I sense that they are beginning to realize that they need to come to some kind of agreeable solution," Mendel said in the Antigua Sun. "I am a little bit hopeful that we are getting their attention."