Think-Tanker Speaks Without Thinking About Antigua v. USA Online Gambling Trade Dispute

Originally published October 12, 2017

A Los Angeles Times piece on the protracted World Trade Organization dispute between the United States and Antigua & Barbuda contains some quotes that are for once actually worthy of the Trump-favored epithet 'fake news'.

On Monday, the Times posted a lengthy and largely accurate article on the 14-year US v. Antigua dispute, focusing on the fact that the hurricane-ravaged island of Barbuda is in desperate need of the over $200m the WTO has authorized Antigua to collect from the US due to the latter nation's refusal to honor its international trade obligations regarding Antigua-licensed online gambling operators.

After quoting Antiguan Prime Minister Gaston Browne detailing American hypocrisy regarding its trade obligations and America's nonsensical moral arguments regarding gambling in general, the Times quoted Roosevelt Institute fellow Todd Tucker arguing that the US had "a good legal case for disregarding the WTO decision."

Leaving aside the fact that the US is the single most prolific filer of WTO complaints and thus isn't really in a position to pick and choose which rulings it chooses to comply with, Tucker goes on to argue that "a lot of anti-gambling activists and religious groups agree with" America's decision to ignore the ruling on Antigua's online gambling industry.

Frankly, if US trade policy is to be based on what some religious groups and single-issue lobbyists prefer, then America should cease all trade with any number of 'godless' nations, although that would mean falling even further behind China on the world's economic stage.

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