UNITED STATES – FORMER TRUST TERRITORY OF THE
PACIFIC ISLANDS
REPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE
YEAR 2024
UNDER THE DECISION OF 7 DECEMBER 2016
[1]The following communication,
dated 10 November 2025, 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
waiver[2]
from its obligations under paragraph 1 of Article I of the GATT 1994 to
the 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, three separate sovereign countries, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, an insular territory of the
United States, 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 report on the implementation of the
trade‑related provisions of the program with a view to facilitating the annual
review provided for in paragraph 4 of Article IX of the Agreement establishing
the WTO.[4]
This report covers the calendar year 2024, the most recent year for which full‑year
data is available.
[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 Covenant 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 Federated
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 applicability 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 agreement 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.