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Posted on 10/12/2007 10:51:44 AM PDT by SubGeniusX
A Brussels think-tank has accused the US government of reneging on commitments made to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over internet gaming. Panellists at a trade forum levelled harsh criticism at the US, focusing on a burgeoning trade clash between the US and Europe over internet gaming.
The forum believes that the US could be liable for up to US$100 billion in trade concessions to European industries after placing illegal discriminatory trade restrictions on European gaming operators.
The disputed concessions arise from Antigua's victory earlier this year when the WTO ruled that the US violated its treaty obligations by excluding online Antiguan gaming operators, while allowing domestic operators to offer various forms of online gaming.
Instead of complying with the ruling, the Bush administration withdrew the sizeable gambling industry from its free trade commitments.
As a result, all 151 WTO members are considering seeking compensation for the withdrawal equal to the size of the entire US land-based and online gaming market, estimated at nearly US$100 billion.
The European Union, along with India and five other countries, has filed notice that it intends to seek compensation.
"The US decision is a major threat to a rules-based international trading system," said Nao Matsukata, former director of policy planning for the Office of the US Trade Representative.
"If more countries follow the US lead and do the same thing, the entire WTO system could implode and that would be extremely dangerous for US economic interests and for free trade generally.
"Part of what makes the US such a formidable opponent in international negotiations is its credibility. That credibility is now at stake for the US government not just in the trade area but in foreign relations generally."
Lode Van Den Hende, a trade lawyer at Herbert Smith in Brussels, criticised the US for prosecuting foreign online gaming companies while letting domestic online gaming interests operate with impunity.
"This is absolute discrimination against foreign operators that the WTO has found to be illegal," he said.
"It is exactly the kind of practice that the WTO was set up to eliminate, and now the US is violating this very basic principle that it fought hard to put in place at the inception of the organisation."
stupid ban needs to be repealed...
Matbe this will wake some folks up.
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But banning internet gambling is vital to us securing our ports in the War on Terrorism. < /stupid Senator Frist mode>
time to repeal the WTO while you are at it
“time to repeal the WTO while you are at it”
BUMP
Total nonsense. The US makes its own laws. No Euro can force something like this. ‘swhy were have a congress.
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another outrage.
Frist was an IDIOT with this measure ... and it was at least partially responsable for giving the Dems the Congress and Senate in ‘06.
agreed. However we have a Congress that does nothing for its tax paying citizens.
Yeah....$100 billion in trade concessions? Time to tell the Euroweenies to stick it.
right and we really want to hand over $100 billion dollars of hard earned tax dollars because of some brusselscrat.
An online gambling ban is needed... its for the chilruns after all!
We should be free to drive our own businesses overseas without the WTO’s help!
On the contrary, bring on the trade wars!
Other countries export more to the U.S. than the U.S. exports back to them, so shutting off trade is their net loss.
Which is to say, if they want to trade with us then they need to bow to our wishes.
we don’t have a domestic trade ban. but even if we did, we shouldn’t be fined $100 billion by a global bureaucracy
This is a mere hint of what it will be like once the UN Globalists take over the planet. By then the former USA will be reduced to begging for crusts anyway, but whoever is rich then will have to pay up.
Yes, and when the federal government enters agreements and senate ratified treaties they are the law and must be respected and followed.
The US Governments ban on internet gambling with foreign companies is clearly in violation of a multitude of agreements and treaties we are a party too.
And as Thomas Sowell points out, if the passenger at his end of your boat is shooting holes in the bottom, you shouldn’t shoot holes in your end to make it fair.
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