Northern Mariana Islands: Garment and Tourist Industries Play a Dominant Role in the Commonwealth's Economy

摘要

The Northern Mariana Islands are a group of 14 islands in the Pacific Ocean, lying just north of Guam. They are located about 3,200 miles west of Honolulu, 5,500 miles west of Los Angeles, and 1,500 miles south of Tokyo. The United States took control of the Northern Mariana Islands from Japan during the latter part of World War II. In 1947, the U.S. Congress approved the Trusteeship Agreement that made the United States responsible to the United Nations for the administration of the islands. Accordingly, the United States was obligated to promote the political, economic, social, and educational advancement of the Islands' inhabitants leading to self-government or independence. For about the next 15 years, the Northern Mariana Islands had little economic development. Except for some U.S. military activity on the Islands, the economy consisted of subsistence farming and fishing, small-scale manufacturing, and trading. Later, the Northern Mariana Islands sought self-government and permanent ties to the United States. Over time, the Islands negotiated different political arrangements with the United States. In March 1976, the President signed Public Law 94-241, which formed a Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth in Political Union With the United States of America. A basic objective of the Covenant was to encourage economic growth and a standard of living in the CNMI comparable to that in the United States.