MONTEGO BAY, St James (CMC) - Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer says that Antigua and Barbuda will seek sanctions against the United States if Washington continues to thwart efforts at finding a negotiated solution to its dispute over internet gaming.

Spencer said that his twin-island nation had sought unsuccessfully since the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling in 2007 to secure a negotiated settlement with the United States and would now seek an early meeting with President Barack Obama on the issue.

"Antigua and Barbuda is concerned that the negotiations are being protracted, with no potential end in sight," Spencer told a news conference yesterday.

"In light of the obvious unwillingness of the US to reach a negotiated settlement that takes into account the contribution of the sector to the economic well-being of Antigua and Barbuda, we have brought the matter before the Conference of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), which has supported Antigua and Barbudas position on this matter from the inception."

Spencer said he hoped to secure firm regional support to call upon the United States, a hemispheric partner, once and for all, to settle this outstanding matter dating back to 2007.

He said that Caricom has the authority to act in unison to protect the interest of member states and that it should utilise all at its disposal to facilitate settlement of this matter.

Spencer said that while Antigua and Barbuda remains a staunch ally of the US and regards it as a crucial partner in development, partners must respect the rules by which they are bound and should not be selective in their implementation.

All must obey international rules, said Spencer, who was flanked by Dominicas Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit at the news conference.

Skerrit said that Dominica would support Antigua and Barbuda on the matter.