Aumua questions State Dept about tuna treaty

Amata at A and P SubcommSeveral issues affecting the territories and Pacific island countries came up at a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia & the Pacific on Friday that Congresswoman Aumua Amata attended.

The hearing was entitled, “U.S. Policy in the Pacific: The Struggle to Maintain Influence.”

Topics included foreign assistance, compacts of free association, China’s growing influence in the region, and most importantly for American Samoa, the South Pacific Tuna Treaty.

Congresswoman Aumua Amata asked State Department official Mr. Matthew J. Matthews, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands about negotiations for the South Pacific Tuna Treaty, which were ongoing at that time.

Saying that the Treaty is vital for fishing access by U.S. vessels, many of which land their fish in American Samoa Aumua asked Matthews, “Can you assure that the State Department is doing all it can to finalize a new Treaty which provides a viable future for the U.S. fleet?” .

Ms. Gloria Steele, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Asia, U.S. Agency for International Development was another witness.

The Congresswoman plefged her support for the U.S.-Palau Compact, which was ratified in 1993 and renewed in 2010.

She says although there has been bipartisan support for continued assistance to Palau, Congress has yet to approve the renewal agreement, largely for budgetary reasons.

Aumua says, “I fully support my colleague Mr. Sablan’s bill H.R. 4531, which would rectify this long outstanding agreement and continue the United States long tradition of honoring the pacts it signs.

“I look forward to further addressing the issue when the bill is brought before the House Natural Resources Committee next week.”

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