Antigua must continue waiting patiently for the US to pay its online gambling damages, following yet another the change of deadlines made by the US, which is widely considered as a failure on the country's behalf to negotiate in good faith and take the necessary initiative over the online gambling issue.
The deadline scheduled for amicable reasoning has been changed twice prior to the recent re-scheduling, of which the last occasion saw the US send a diplomatic team to handle the online gambling issue only 3 days after the expiration date. Following a brief visit by the Deputy US Trade Representative, John Veroneau, to Antigua's Minister of Finance and Economy, Dr. Errol Cort, a new deadline of August 1st has been set.
Cort explained that he expects the US to take an additional 2 to 3 months to organize a way to pay the online gambling damages, and that a settlement should not be made when in direct clash with the date. The current agreement requires the US to pay Antigua $21 million in damages caused by the UIGEA against online gambling. Cort added that the deadlines were not intended to be kept strictly, but rather, to put pressure on both countries to continue meetings and online gambling damages negotiations.
The US was further given a chance by Cort to excuse its behavior since there is a network of organizations involved in the case. Yet the US did not comment, and Antigua residents and businessmen are not all joining Cort in his patient stance.
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