Group Sues U.S. to Reveal Terms of WTO Online Poker, Gambling Settlement

Public Citizen, a U.S. national non-profit public interest organization, announced it has filed a lawsuit yesterday to force the Bush administration to make public the details of its offer accepted by the European Union to bind more sectors of the U.S. economy to World Trade Organization (WTO) jurisdiction as part of the settlement relating to a WTO ruling against the U.S. ban on online poker and Internet gambling.

After a Feb. 2007 WTO ruling against the United States for failing to make U.S. gambling laws comply to WTO treaties it had previously signed, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced instead of complying with the ruling it would take the unprecedented step to remove the gambling sector from WTO treaty coverage.

By doing so, WTO rules were triggered requiring the U.S. to negotiate compensation for other WTO members, such as the European Union, Canada, Antigua, Macao and Costa Rica, who claimed they would be adversely affected by the U.S. withdrawal of online gambling from WTO treaties.

USTR REFUSES TO REVEAL DETAILS OF DEALS

Although it announced that deals had been reached with the European Union and other WTO claimants, the USTR has refused to release the details of its compensation agreements. In December, the USTR provided a hint at the scope of the deals by revealing that they involved new U.S. WTO commitments for "warehousing services, technical testing services, research and development services and postal services relating to outbound international letters."

Earlier this year, freelance writer Ed Brayton filed an official Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to discover exactly what concessions were made with the European Union, Canada and Japan. Brayton, who frequently writes for the Michigan Messenger, is a fellow with the Center for Independent Media and has written extensively about U.S. online gambling restrictions and their effect on international trade.

The USTR denied Brayton's request and his administrative appeal, contending that the settlement was properly "classified in the interest of national security".

Public Citizen is representing journalist Ed Brayton, and through their Litigation Group has filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The suit asks the court to find that the USTR is illegally withholding the settlement agreement and to order the agency to provide Brayton a copy of the agreement.

"Americans have a right to know what kinds of trade concessions the U.S. government is granting other countries, especially when those deals have a significant impact on domestic policy and may be worth billions of dollars," said Bonnie I. Robin-Vergeer, a Public Citizen attorney.

"The Bush administration's decision to withhold the agreement under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has more to do with its desire to prevent public and congressional scrutiny of the settlement before it is enshrined in a new WTO schedule than it does with national security," she added. "FOIA requires the agreement's release."

To view a copy of the complaint filed, click here.

CONGRESS HAS ASKED FOR DETAILS TOO

In addition to Brayton's request, a formal request was also made by Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) asking for full disclosure of the concessions granted without Congressional approval.

"The issue will be whether the USTR abused its authority by granting new market access to the EU without first securing the consent of the trade committees in Congress," said Nao Matsukata, formerly Director of Policy Planning for USTR Robert Zoellick and now a Senior Advisor for Alston & Bird, LLP.

"Ultimately, this could invalidate the deal with the EU and cause various WTO Members to revisit the issue of fair compensation from the United States."

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