Almost exactly a year ago, the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) found the United States in violation of its commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services with respect to its prohibition on the provision of cross-border gambling and betting services from Antigua and Barbuda to consumers in the United States.

After a lengthy and contentious process, the WTO gave the United States until yesterday, Tuesday, 3 April 2006, to bring its laws into compliance with the rulings of the DSB in our case.

The deadline has come and passed and the United States has made no effort towards compliance. The only laws introduced into the United States Congress in recent months would, in fact, further entrench the discriminatory nature of the United States' approach to cross-border gambling and betting services.

The United States Trade Representative has rebuffed every offer Antigua and Barbuda has made to engage the United States in an attempt to work out a reasonable resolution of this dispute. It is not just that discussions have proven difficult; it is simply that the United States has refused to discuss any compromise or settlement at all.

It is ironic that at this point in time when the United States is upbraiding other WTO nations for failing to meet their obligations under WTO agreements and failing to act as "responsible stakeholders" in international trade matters, the very same United States government would treat its own WTO obligations to Antigua and Barbuda with such scant regard.

As a member of the World Trade Organisation, Antigua and Barbuda agreed to abide by the rules and decisions of this esteemed body and, we expect that all other members would do likewise, irrespective of size and/or wealth.

While the United States flaunts the decision of the WTO in our case and attempts to shore up its own domestic monopoly on gambling and betting services, Antigua and Barbuda wants to point out that we have a highly regulated gaming industry in our country. We have and maintain strict laws that protect the integrity of the services provided from our shores; we prevent underage gaming and lock out this country's services from money laundering and other criminal activity.

We have offered to engage in co-regulation with the United States and to limit our gaming sector until the United States could observe and evaluate the effectiveness of our regulations. We have, in fact, agreed to work with the United States in any regard to ensure the safety of the services our providers offer to US consumers.

Regrettably, all of our offers have been not just rejected, but ignored.

It, no doubt, will be extremely challenging for our very small island state to effectively retaliate against this internationally unlawful conduct of the United States, but we remain resolute in our quest to fully enforce our international trading rights, thereby protecting and further enhancing the economic opportunities for our citizens and residents and also providing that needed level of economic diversification within the global competitive environment.

In this regard, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda is committed to exploring all available options within the framework of the WTO in order to have the United States comply with the WTO's ruling on the provision of cross border gambling and betting services.

We believe this to be a watershed moment for the WTO-where we find out if the WTO works for all, or only for the most powerful. We also believe it is time for the United States administration to translate its words into concrete action by tangibly demonstrating that it truly believes in "free and fair trade".

We remain ready to discuss the most appropriate form of compensation and remedies with the United States, and I have instructed our WTO delegation to remain ready to engage their US counterparts to this end.