Export Island Marshall
Marshall Islands (10/04)
The Republic of the Marshall Islands is a sovereign nation in "free association" with the United States. After more than a decade of negotiation, the Marshall Islands and the United States signed the Compact of Free Association on June 25, 1983. The people of the Marshall Islands approved the compact in a UN-observed plebiscite on September 7, 1983. The U.S. Congress subsequently approved the compact, adding several amendments which were accepted by the Government of the Marshall Islands and the compact entered into force on October 21, 1986. In 1999-2003, the two nations negotiated an amended Compact that entered into force on May 1, 2004. Under the amended Compact, the U.S. will provide the RMI $57 million over the next ten years and $62 million over the following 10 years, and will give Marshallese access to U.S. programs and services throughout. A Joint Economic Management and Financial Accountability Committee (JEMFAC) comprised of representatives of both governments will ensure t ... [Read More]
Kiribati (05/05)
The original inhabitants of Kiribati are Gilbertese, a Micronesian people. Approximately 90% of the population of Kiribati lives on the atolls of the Gilbert Islands. Although the Line Islands are about 2,000 miles east of the Gilbert Islands, most inhabitants of the Line Islands are also Gilbertese. Owing to an annual population growth rate of around 2.5% and severe overcrowding in the capital on South Tarawa, a program of migration has been implemented to move nearly 5,000 inhabitants to outlying atolls, mainly in the Line Islands. The Phoenix Islands have never had any permanent population. A British effort to settle Gilbertese there in the 1930s failed due to lack of water. A new program of settlement to the Phoenix Islands was begun in 1995. ... [Read More]
Micronesia (10/04)
Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more. ... The fishing industry is highly important. Foreign commercial fishing fleets pay over $20 million annually for the right to operate in FSM territorial waters. These licensing fees account for nearly 30% of domestic budgetary revenue. Additionally, exports of marine products, mainly re-exports of fish to Japan, account for nearly 85% of export revenue. ... [Read More]
Background Notes Archive - East Asia and the Pacific
U.S. Department of StateBackground Notes: Kiribati, May 1996Bureau of East Asian and Pacific AffairsPrepared and released by the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Office of Pacific Island AffairsMay 1996Official Name: Republic of KiribatiPROFILEGeographyArea: 719 sq. km. (266 sq. mi.).Capital: Tarawa.Terrain: Archipelago of low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs.Climate: Hot and humid, moderated by trade winds.PeopleNationality: I'KiribatiPopulation (1995): 77,852; Tarawa (1995): 32,356.Annual growth rate (1995): 1.45%Ethnic groups: Predominantly Micronesian, with some Polynesian.Religions: 54% Roman Catholic, 30% Protestant (Congregational), some Seventh-day Adventist, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints and Church of God.Languages: English (official), I-Kiribati.Education (1985): Compulsory through age 11. Literacy--90%.Health (1990): Infant mortality rate--62/1,000. Life expectancy--55 yrs. male, 60 yrs. female.Work force: 7,000.GovernmentT ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
The total population of the Marshall Islands as of the 1999 census was 50,840 people. That was an increase of 7,460 people since the 1988 census. Majuro and Ebeye are the two urban population centers. Over 50% of Marshallese live on Majuro Atoll. Out of the total population, 19% live in the island of Ebeye in Kwajalein Atoll and 3% on the outer islands of Kwajalein Atoll. With just 0.14 square miles, Ebeye Island is the most densely populated area in the Marshall Islands, with an equivalent population density of 66,750 persons per square mile. The city of Majuro and Ebeye offer amenities, such as electricity, modern Western lifestyles, and employment opportunities (albeit limited) that continually draw younger Marshallese from the outer islands. On the outer atolls the lifestyle is mostly unchanged and untouched by modern development. ... [Read More]
Palau (11/04)
The Republic of Palau consists of eight principal islands and more than 250 smaller ones lying roughly 500 miles southeast of the Philippines. The islands of Palau constitute part of the Caroline Islands chain. About 70% of the Palauan population lives in the capital city of Koror on Koror Island. The constitution calls for a new capital to be established on the bigger but less developed island of Babeldaob--the second-largest island in Micronesia after Guam. ... [Read More]
Remarks
1111--07/18/03 Status of U.S. Interagency Review of U.S. Export Licensing and Technology Transfer Policy; Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Jr., Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs; Conference on "Transatlantic Defense Industrial Cooperation: Challenges and Prospects" Co-sponsored by NATO and the Transatlantic Center of the German Marshall Fund of the United States; Brussels, Belgium ... 1111--11/07/01 Globalization of Export Controls and Sanctions; Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Jr., Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs; Remarks to the 14th Annual Export Controls Conference; London, England ... [Read More]
Tuvalu (05/05)
The Spanish were the first Europeans to see the islands in the 1500s. However, in 1819 an American ship captain, De Peyster, named the main island in the group Ellice's Island after a British politician who owned the cargo aboard his ship. In 1841, the U.S. Exploring Expedition commanded by Charles Wilkes visited three of Tuvalu's islands and welcomed visitors to his ships. Other early interactions with the outside world were far less benign--in 1863, hundreds of people from the southern islands were kidnapped when they were lured them aboard slave ships with promises that they would be taught about Christianity. Those islanders were forced to work under horrific conditions in the guano mines of Peru. ... [Read More]
Dominican Republic (05/05)
Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more. ... U.S. exports to the Dominican Republic in 2003 totaled $4.2 billion. The Dominican Republic exported $4.4 million to the U.S. in 2003, equaling some 87% of its export revenues. The U.S. embassy works closely with U.S. business firms and Dominican trade groups, both of which can take advantage of the new opportunities in this growing market. At the same time the embassy is working with the Dominican government to resolve outstanding business disputes from previous administrations. ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
The outside world had little contact with the islands until the mid-19th century, when American whalers and missionaries entered the region. Spain claimed the Caroline and Mariana Islands in 1885 and retained them until 1899, when Germany purchased most of the island chains in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War. Germany, in turn, lost its possession to Japan in 1914 at the beginning of World War I. The League of Nations formally extended a mandate to Japan in 1920, thus confirming the Japanese era of colonization. Intensive crop production began, and the islands became exporters of many agricultural products. In 1945, after World War II, control passed to the U.S. Navy and then to the Department of Interior under a Trusteeship under U.N. auspices which began in 1947. The FSM, together with the Marshall Islands, Palau, and Northern Mariana Islands, made up the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. The FSM came into existence in 1979, and on November 3, 1986, the FSM and the Uni ... [Read More]
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