Bittersweet Victory In the Antigua and Barbuda Case

Now, when the case between Antigua and Barbuda and the United States has finally ended owing to a ruling by the World Trade Organization, we are left with a small perception that the United States was 'let off easy'.

When the Caribbean Islands first opened this case accusing the US for violating international trade laws for sure they were unaware that they will actually defeat the super power. However, the victory did not bring quite the expected result. WTO only demanded US to pay trade losses of $21 million per year, an obviously insignificant amount of restitution compared with the $3.4 billion the islands have been seeking all along.

And the bittersweet taste of the victory comes mostly from the fact that the Caribbean Islands can recover the money only from horse racing and no other form of online gambling. More, by disregarding US copyright and other intellectual property right laws, Antigua and Barbuda have been given a 'free pass' to pirate US music, films and video games. Not at all what they were expecting for...but better than nothing...