Tuna Cannery Points, Tutuila AS, 2007, US EPA Region 9
Description
American Samoa's primary industry is tuna processing by the Samoa Packing Co., user of the "Chicken of the Sea" label, and StarKist Samoa. Canneries thrive in this tiny U.S. territory because they allow Asian fishing companies to avoid U.S. import tariffs of up to 35 percent on processed fish. Goods have duty- and quota-free entry to the United States if 30 percent of their value is added in the territory. Federal law prohibits foreign commercial fishing vessels from offloading tuna at U.S. ports; however, American Samoa is exempted. Thus the greater part of the South Pacific tuna catch is landed here, supplying the United States with the bulk of its canned tuna, worth US$500 million a year. In aggregate, the canneries contribute about US$25 million a year to the local economy in wages, and spend another US$40 million on support services, fuel, and provisioning.