By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

MOTOR cars were the top exports of Guam for 2006, the latest data released by the Bureau of Statistics and Plans stated.
According to BSP, motor cars designed for transport of persons accounted for 42.97 percent of Guam’s exports last year, totaling $22.7 million.
This was followed by chilled, fresh, or frozen fish, which accounted for 22.3 percent amounting to $11.8 million.
Coming next was iron, non-alloy steel bars, and rods at 4.52 percent valued at $2 million.
BSP defines a Guam export as something intended for sale or trade originating on Guam that is shipped from Guam to the United States or a foreign country.
The commodities reported by BSP are for resale, and thus excludes military, government, promotional and personal items.
Guam is an important re-export center for the distribution of goods throughout the Pacific, particularly to Micronesia, and this provides a large portion of the island’s export income.
The top three exports of cars, food, and construction materials for 2006 are thus typical of the essential items that Guam exports to the neighboring islands, especially those that do not have the necessary infrastructure to receive goods directly.
Under the Foreign Sales Corporation Act of 1984, U.S. firms that have set up foreign sales corporations on Guam for their overseas export operations can also qualify for certain tax exemptions on export earnings.
Other Guam exports for 2006 include tobacco, cigars, cigarettes and cigarillos at 6.13 percent; odoriferous substances and mixtures at 4.91 percent; ferrous waste and scrap of iron or steel at 3.46 percent; petroleum oils and gases at 2.46 percent; jewelry articles of precious metal at 2.09 percent; yachts, boats and other vessels and parts at 1.24 percent; ethyl alcohol, liqueurs and other beverages at 1.21 percent; trunks, suitcases and other similar bags at 1.16 percent; electric motors, transformers, accumulators at 1.04 percent; footwear, with soles of rubber or plastic at 0.94 percent; beer made from malt at 0.79 percent; aluminum waste, scraps, tubes or fittings at 0.78 percent; wrist watches and parts at 0.69 percent; new pneumatic tires or rubber at 0.68 percent; machinery and mechanical appliances at 0.66 percent; milk and cream at 0.65 percent; and water, including mineral and aerated water at 0.51 percent.
Agents from the Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency process these exports at service centers located at the Port Authority of Guam and Guam International Airport.
Guam, like the U.S. government, uses the Harmonized System as the direct basis for its new export and import classification systems.
Commodities exported from Guam are identified by its commodity classification code on the shipper’s export declaration form.
Other information, such as the commodities’ trade name, U.S. dollar value and volume based on an international standard of measurement are required prior to export.