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"To provide all parties with sufficient time to reach a successful resolution, the United States and the claimants have jointly agreed that these negotiations should be extended until December 14," said Gretchen Hamel, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative's office, which is part of the White House.
The talks between the U.S. and seven of its trading partners had missed a deadline of this week. American officials have not hinted how much compensation the trading partners are seeking, but last month said reports it could exceed $100 billion were not accurate.
"Each negotiation is proceeding at its own pace, and some are quite advanced," said Hamel.
Penalties Package
America has been compelled to negotiate the penalties package because of a 2003 case filed by the Caribbean nation Antigua and Barbuda, which challenged U.S. Internet gambling restrictions at the World Trade Organization, the international global trade organization.
A WTO panel ruled that a U.S. law allowing domestic companies to provide online horse race gambling services discriminated against foreigners.
American negotiators, in their defense, argued they did not aim to include gambling as part of the market-opening commitments it made in the 1994 Uruguay Round trade deal.
However, having lost the case, it announced in May that it would exercise a rarely used right under WTO rules to clarify that its commitments "did not extend to gambling. "
That change opened the door for trading partners to demand compensation in the form of increased access to some other U.S. services industry.
The talks with the EU are in addition to negotiations with India, Japan, Costa Rica, Macao, Canada and Australia, among others.
Antigua may suspend copyright protections on American movies, music and software, a retaliatory measure which would raise concerns in Hollywood.
A deal, though, may be forthcoming. "We believe that negotiations hold the most promise for resolving this issue," said Hamel.
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