The Marshall Islands Foreign Minister said Wednesday that the State Department has acted favorably on a report submitted by the Marshall Islands in Sept. 2009.
When the Congress enacted the original Compact of Free Association in 1986, it made major changes to the negotiated tax and trade provisions that had been aimed at helping this western Pacific nation attract foreign investment. The U.S. government substituted several additional federal programs and some development funding in exchange for eliminating these provisions from the Compact. Congress included provisions that the Marshall Islands could submit a claim for up to $20 million if it could show economic losses resulting from the legislative changes. This provision was extended in the amended Compact approved in 2003 providing the Marshall Islands with the opportunity prior to September 30, 2009 to show adverse economic impacts.
“The IAG (Inter-Agency Group) concluded that the Marshall Islands has reasonably demonstrated net adverse impacts based on the loss of (Compact) Title II benefits in making their request for $20 million in further compensation under Section 111(d) of the Compact Act,” said a letter from the State Department to Senate Energy Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-New Mexico.
The letter said that the IAG would be willing to consider additional compensation beyond $20 million if the Committee requested it.
“This is great news for the government and people of the Marshall Islands since these additional amounts would do much to help make the Trust Fund viable and sustainable for the Marshallese people in the future,” said Foreign Minister John Silk Wednesday. “As we all know, our Trust Fund is in dire need of additional contributions to ensure that it is viable and sustainable in the future. This is a big step in providing a better future for our youth and for future generations of our nation.”
