Business
Antigua & Barbuda could hit U.S. with copyright-free downloads in trade sanctions
Although the WTO awarded Antigua & Barbuda the right to impose only US$21 million in annual sanctions, Mendel said the size of the award was not an obstacle.
If Antigua & Barbuda were to begin a state-sponsored website to download Hollywood movies and U.S.-made computer software, it could still inflict a lot of damage on U.S. rights holders.
“When you think about it, US$21 million could be all accomplished in one go or in 50 million goes. The dollar figure is not important,” he said.
Asked if a site charging one cent per download would be a way to accomplish Antigua & Barbuda’s aims, he said: “That is an intellectual possibility.”
The WTO gave Antigua & Barbuda the right to retaliate with sanctions in December 2007 and it announced last month that it had finally given up waiting for a U.S. compromise proposal. The government hoped the threat of sanctions would break the logjam, Mendel said.
“We’ve heard a lot more from them (the U.S. negotiators) over the past two weeks than over the past 10 years.” He added that Antigua & Barbuda’s main aim was still to get the United States to comply.
In an emailed reply to a request for comment, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative said: “The U.S. is in ongoing discussions with Antigua & Barbuda in an effort to find a mutually satisfactory resolution to this dispute.”
