WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/L/857 
5 July 2012  
 
(12-3596) 
General Council 
25-26 July 2012 Original:   English 
 
 
 
UNITED STATES – FORMER TRUST TERRITORY OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS  
 
Report of the Government of the United States for the Year 2011  
under the Decision of 27 July 20071 
   The following communication, dated 2 July 2012 is being circulated at the request of the Delegation of the United States.  
_______________ 
 
 
1. Introduction 
1. On 27 July 2007, the United States was grante d a renewal of the waiver (WT/L/183) from its 
obligations under paragr aph 1 of Article I of the GATT 1994 to the extent necessary to permit the 
United States Government to provide preferential treat ment for eligible imports into the United States 
from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federate d States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, 
and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, all formerly part of the Trust Territory of the 
Pacific Islands (TTPI).
2  This waiver expires 31 December 2016. 
2. Under the terms of this waiver, the United States is required to  submit to the General Council 
an annual report on the implementation of the trade -related provisions of the programme with a view 
to facilitating the annual review pr ovided for in paragraph 4 of Artic le IX of the WTO Agreement.  
This report covers the calendar year 2011 and trade data has been provided for that calendar year, the 
most recent year for which full-year data is available. 
2. Preferential Treatment for the Former Tr ust Territory of the Pacific Islands 
3. The entry into force in 1986 of the Covenant  establishing the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands, the Compacts of Free Association with the United States for the Republic of the 
Marshall Islands, the Federated St ates of Micronesia, and, in 1994, of the Compact of Free 
Association with the United States for the Republic of Palau, terminat ed the Trusteeship of the Pacific 
Islands, established on 2 April 1947.  US law provid es for the continuation of the preferential trade 
treatment granted these islands under the Trusteeship.  These preferences are similar to historical 
preferences the United States provides the US Virgin 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 
                                                      
1 WT/L/694. 
2 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 around Guam known as 
Micronesia.  With the expiration in 1986 of the U.N.-mandated TTPI which was administered by the United 
States for roughly 40 years, these islands formed into four political entities, three independent nations (Republic 
of the Marshall Islands, Federated Stated of Micronesia, and Republic of Palau), and one commonwealth in 
political union with the United States (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands).  WT/L/857 
Page 2  
 
  GATT 1994.  The primary purpose of this preference system has been to promote the expansion of 
trade and the economic development of the beneficiar ies in a manner consistent with the objectives of 
the GATT and with the trade, financial and deve lopment needs of the beneficiary countries. 
4. Under General Notes 3(a)(iv) and 10 of the Ha rmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, 
duty-free treatment is accorded to all products of  the former 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 products are subject to duty in some or all of the former 
TTPI.  Duty-free treatment is only accorded to the in-quota quantit y of the agricultural products 
subject to a tariff-rate quota.   
3. Performance 
5. A very small volume of production and trade is involved in this progra mme.  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 Nort hern Mariana Islands in 2011 total about 
US$17 million. 
6. Total US imports from the former TTPI remained  about the same in 2011 from 2010.  During 
the past year, there were slight increases in U.S.  imports from the Republic of the Marshall Islands 
and the Republic of Palau.  U.S. imports fro m the Federated States of Micronesia and the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas decreased.   
7. The Republic of the Marshall Islands was the la rgest exporter, responsible for roughly 86 per 
cent of total exports to the United States from the former TTPI in 2011.  The Federated States of 
Micronesia and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mari ana Islands were the next largest exporters in 
2010, followed by the Republic of Palau.  The fo llowing table provides summary information on US 
imports from the former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands for 1997-2011.  
   WT/L/857
 Page 3TABLE 1  
 
US Imports for Consumption from the Former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, by Sources, 1997-2011 
 
 
Source 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
Value (1,000 dollars) 
Republic of the 
Marshall 
Islands 17,101 5,769 9,812 5,047 5,535 9,424 27,109 12, 060 17,205 14,440 11,708 19 ,255 13,648 11,820 14,939 
Federal States 
of Micronesia 11,859 12,587 10,132 13,729 20,769 15,217 14,347 11,415 1,558 885 4,069 3,552 2,918 4,218 1,596 
                
Republic of 
Palau 12,975 13,609 15,760 13,575 15 ,426 15,492 1,633 146 485 605 386 1,138 80 148 210 
                
Commonwealth 
of the Northern 
Mariana 
Islands 799,086 1,066,981 1,049,101 1,026,158 948,155 816,959 826,123 811,020 679,560 498,362 319,171 105,299 5,959 1,163 627 
Total 852,021 1,098,946 1,084,805 1,058,509 989,835 857,092 869,212 834,641 698,808 514,292 335,334 129,244 22,605 17,349  
17,372 
Source:  Compiled from official statistics of the US Department of Commerce. 
 
 
 
__________