WT/L/1074  
 
19 November  2019 
(19-7889) Page: 1/3 
General Council  
9-11 December 2019  
  Original: English  
 
  
UNITED STATES – FORMER TRUST TERRITORY OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS  
REPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE YEAR 2018  
UNDER THE DECISION OF 7 DECEMBER 20161 
The following communication, dated  12 November 2019 , is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of the United States.  
 
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1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  On 7 December  2016, the United States was granted a renewal of the waiver2 from its 
obligations under paragraph 1 of Article I of the GATT 1994 to t he extent necessary to permit the 
United  States Government to provide preferential treatment for eligible imports into the United 
States from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic 
of Palau, and the Commonwea lth of the Northern Mariana Islands, all formerly part of the Trust 
Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) .3 This waiver expires  31 December  2026. 
1.2.  Under the terms of this waiver, the United States is required to submit to the General Council 
an annual rep ort on the implementation of the trade -related provisions of the programme with a 
view to facilitating the annual review provided for in paragraph 4 of Article IX of the WTO Agreement.  
This report covers the calendar year 201 8, the most recent year for whi ch full -year data is available.  
2  PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT FOR THE FORMER TRUST TERRITORY OF THE PACIFIC 
ISLANDS  
2.1.  In 1986, the entry into force of the Covenant establishing the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands, the Compacts of Free Association Between  the United States and the Republic of 
the Marshall Islands, and Between the United States and the Federate d States of Micronesia, and, 
in 1994, of the Compact of Free Association Between  the United States and the Republic of Palau, 
terminated the applicability of the Trusteeship Agreement  for the Territory of the Pacific Islands , 
established on 2 April 1947, with respect to these islands . US law provides for the continuation  of 
the preferential trade treatment to the  islands that they had been granted these under the TTPI . 
These preferences are similar to historical preferences the United States provides the US Virgin 
                                                
1 WT/L/1000.  
2 WT/L/183.  
3 These four entities formerly comprised the three geographic island groups known as the Marshall, 
Caroline, and Mariana Islands, which are located in the western Pacific Ocean region and known as the 
Micronesian region. During 1986, the Covenan t establishing the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 
("CNMI") ("Covenant"), an insular area of the United States, and Compacts of Free Association ("Compacts") 
with the United States for the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Federa ted States of Micronesia 
(FSM) came into effect. With the entry into force of the Covenant with CNMI and the Compacts with the RMI and 
FSM, and the agreement of the Trusteeship Council of the United Nations, the UN Security Council determined 
that the appl icability of the Trusteeship Agreement with respect to the RMI and FSM had terminated. In 1994, 
the Compact of Free Association with the United States for the Republic of Palau came into effect. With the entry 
into force of the Compact with Palau and the a greement of the Trusteeship Council of the United Nations, the UN 
Security Council determined that the applicability of the Trusteeship Agreement with respect to Palau had been 
terminated.  WT/L/ 1074 
 
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  Islands, Guam and American Samoa, which were US possessions on 1 July 1939, and which are 
included in Annex D to Article I of the GATT  1994. The primary purpose of this preference system 
has been to promote the expansion of trade and the economic d evelopment of the beneficiaries in a 
manner consistent with the objectives of the GATT and with the trade, financial and development 
needs of the beneficiary countries.  
2.2.  Under General Notes 3(a)(iv) and 10 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United Sta tes, 
duty-free treatment is accorded to all products of the for mer TTPI, with some exceptions . Certain 
fishery products are subject to quantity limitations, while watches and watch movements, and  
buttons, certain textile, apparel, footwear and luggage prod ucts are subject to duty in s ome or all 
of the former TTPI . Duty-free treatment is only accorded to the in -quota quantity of the agricultural 
products subject to a tariff -rate quota.  
3  PERFORMANCE  
3.1.  A very small volume of production and trade is involved in th is program.  Taken together, 
US imports from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of 
Micronesia, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in 201 8 total about 
US$25.6 million.  
3.2.  From 201 7 to 201 8, total US imports from the former TTPI decreased by about 35 per cent , 
from approximately  US$39.3 million to approximately US$25.6 million. D uring the past year, US 
imports from the Federated States of Micronesia dropped by 35  per cent , while imports from th e 
Republic of Palau more than doubled . 
3.3.  The Republic of the Marshall Islands was the largest exp orter, responsible for approximately 
82 per cent  of total exports to the United States  from the former TTPI in 201 8. The Commonwealth 
of the Northern Mariana  Islands  and the Republic of Palau were the next largest exporters in 201 8, 
followed by the  Federated States of Micronesia . The following table provides summary information 
on US  imports from the former TTPI for 200 4-2018. 
 
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  WT/L/1074  
 
- 3 - TABLE 1  
US IMPORTS FOR CONSUMPTION FROM THE FORMER TRUST TERRITORY OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS, BY SOURCES, 2004 -2018 
Source  2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 
 (1,000 d (1,000 dollars ) 
Republic of the 
Marshall Islands  11,250  17,205  14,521  13,138  20,219  13,650  11,820  14,939  18,947  16,966  14,481  29,067  39,347  35,177  20,968  
Federal States of 
Micronesia  11,415  1,558  885 4,069  3,552  2,918  4,218  1,602  904 1,787  412 713 536 921 854 
Republic of Palau  162 485 605 386 1,138  80 148 210 455 350 555 545 1,067  574 1,306  
Commonwealth 
of the Northern 
Mariana Islands  811,020  679,560  498,362  319,171  105,299  5,959  1,163  627 1,581  923 900 1,804  1,545  2,672  2,428  
Total  833,847  698,807  514,374  336,764  130,209  22,607  17,349  17,378  21,887  20,025  16,348  32,129  42,494  39,343  25,556  
 
 
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