In a statement issued today, Congresswoman Aumua Amata said: “The isolated nature of American Samoa continues to place an undue burden on our island’s ability to support stable economic growth. As such, we all understood that the closing of the TriMarine cannery was a very distinct possibility, bordering on the inevitable.
“Due to a complex series of factors, including a long history of poorly thought out and misguided government policies, we find ourselves at a crossroads.”
“It was my top priority during my first term in congress to begin reversing those policies, and I will continue that mission in the hopes that the island’s remaining cannery can prosper.
“American Samoa has a rich history and cultural heritage of strength and perseverance and we will continue to march on.
“The negative impact of the cannery closing to our economy will be far from negligible however; we’ve weathered worse storms and have come out of it with a better understanding of what it takes to keep moving forward.
“This situation is a set-back but also an opportunity to look ahead and build something better from the ground up.
“Resiliency is not about never falling down or never taking damage, but rather fostering and maintaining our strength so that each stumbling block is a little bit easier to come back from. We can pull together and work on diversifying our economy and implementing new ways to grow.
“We can continue to implement better infrastructure and economic policies so that future hurdles are more like small speed bumps instead of large mountains.
“Be assured, we will do everything we can to minimize the impact of this closing on our community and keep American Samoa’s economy healthy and growing.”
