As finance minister Harold Lovell prepares for a trip north to lobby United States senators and representatives on behalf of Antigua & Barbuda, another arm of the US government has cited Antigua & Barbuda for infringing the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA).
In its freshly minted Ninth Report to Congress on the Operation of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (December 31, 2011), the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has made specific reference to Antigua & Barbuda as a country that has failed to meet CBERA requirements.
The report explicitly cites the expropriation of the Half Moon Bay resort as an issue that places Antigua & Barbuda in opposition to the interests of the United States, as outlined in the CBERA.
The references to Antigua & Barbuda are found in the section of the USTR report entitled “Country Reports:
Compliance with Eligibility Criteria”. These country reports focus congressional attention on current performance of CBI beneficiary countries with respect to the eligibility criteria reflected in the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA).
The CBTPA is the most recent expression of US policy objectives linked to the extension of CBI benefits. CBERA and CBTPA fall under the general aegis of the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI).
The USTR report makes reference to the Half Moon Bay resort expropriation as follows:
“Nationalization/Expropriation: The case of the Half Moon Bay Hotel remains unresolved. In 1971, HMB Holdings Limited (“HMB”) purchased the Half Moon Bay Hotel in Antigua.
In 1995, Hurricane Luis struck Antigua, causing widespread damage to the hotel, such that it had to be closed. The hotel has not reopened since then. In 1999, the Government of Antigua determined that it should acquire the property compulsorily, in order to repair it and resume hotel operations.
HMB objected, and the two sides had some discussions with a view towards enabling HMB to renovate the property itself. These discussions did not produce a mutually satisfactory solution, and in 2002 the Antiguan Cabinet decided to proceed with the acquisition.
In June 2007, after a number of legal proceedings, the UK Privy Council determined that the government of Antigua could proceed with the acquisition, provided that it provided compensation to HMB. The government of Antigua took physical possession of the hotel in 2007.
The government of Antigua and HMB have been unable to reach an agreement on the appropriate amount of compensation, and HMB has initiated legal action against the Government of Antigua to obtain compensation.”
Representative Mike Coffman (R) Colorado has not missed an opportunity to advance the agenda of those members of Congress who would like to see the US government move against Antigua & Barbuda. Coffman is one of 10 congressmen campaigning for the adoption of House Resolution #507 – companion to Senate Resolution #346.
Both resolutions call for the US government to take action to secure Antigua & Barbuda’s co-operation in the struggle to recover US investors’ assets caught up in the alleged Allen Stanford US billion Ponzi scheme.
The Half Moon Bay resort expropriation is prominently mentioned in both the House and Senate resolutions. Coffman has added his own comments to the USTR report, which states on page 64:
“Congressman Coffman submitted his report on behalf of HMB Holdings Ltd., the previous owner of Half Moon Bay Resort in Antigua and Barbuda. The submission seeks to highlight two issues.
First, it seeks to draw attention to the conduct of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda with respect to the expropriation of the Half Moon Bay Resort, which was owned by HMB Holdings Ltd. The submission notes that the government of Antigua and Barbuda has failed to compensate HMB Holdings Ltd. for the expropriation.
Second, Congressman Coffman urged the President to include a description of the situation in Antigua and Barbuda in the CBERA report and eliminate any economic aid that the country of Antigua and Barbuda receives from the United States under the CBERA.”
Chapter 3 of the USTR Report (Eligibility Criteria & Advancement of Trade Policy Goals) lays out certain “mandatory” factors that preclude the US president from initially designating any country a CBERA beneficiary.
In connection with the mandatory factors “Nationalization/Expropriation” and “Arbitral Awards,” the US Trade Representative makes reference to questions that have arisen under these headings pertaining to certain countries. In terms of the report, Antigua & Barbuda must be seen as one of these countries – along with Belize and also Haiti, where several dormant cases linger.
This latest action by the Office of the US Trade Representative, when seen in light of the recent Senate Resolution #346 and House Resolution #507, bears significance for Antigua & Barbuda’s relations with the US government. Taken together, these developments indicate that issues of Antigua & Barbuda’s commitments under the Allen Stanford debacle and the Half Moon Bay expropriation are becoming active features on the US political landscape.
Finance Minister Lovell’s trip to the United States seems particularly timely, especially as news comes of a potentially positive shift in the US government policy on internet gaming.
(Source http://www.caribarena.com/antigua/news/latest/99328-us-trade-rep-cites-antigua-a-barbuda.html)
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