About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (November 29, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goverlc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Inknming the Ieg~sIative debate since 1914 November 29, 2024 Fiji: Background and Issues Facing Congress Successive U.S. presidential administrations and some Members of Congress have identified U.S. national security interests in the Pacific Islands, including maintaining free and open waterways, supporting U.S. diplomatic engagement with Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and regional organizations, and addressing security and other threats posed by the People's Republic of China (PRC or China). Fiji is viewed as an important partner for the United States given its regional influence, relative economic power, and military forces, one of three in the region. Congressional considerations include Fiji's human rights record; U.S. assistance to Fiji across several areas including fisheries, security cooperation, and climate; and Fiji's law enforcement cooperation with China. ackground Fiji is an archipelagic nation with a parliamentary republic- style government. The capital city of Suva is located on Viti Levu, one of the two major islands. Fiji is the second most populated PIC, after Papua New Guinea, with nearly one million people. Fiji is an ethnically and religiously heterogeneous society including the indigenous iTaukei (57%) and Indo-Fijians (37.5%) whose ancestors were brought by the British from India to serve as laborers during British rule of Fiji, which lasted 105 years until the nation gained its independence in 1970. Fiji has one of the Pacific's largest economies, with the World Bank reporting a GDP of $5.49 billion in 2023. The economy's primary industries-tourism and agriculture- have rebounded since the COVID-19 pandemic, but labor migration poses an economic risk for Fiji. Remittances provide an important source of national revenue. Australia is Fiji's most significant development partner, accounting for 25% of Fiji's official development financing. Some analysts consider Fiji a leader amongst the PICs. It plays an important role in Pacific regionalism as the hub of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), the region's preeminent political and economic bloc. The PIF Secretariat in Suva is the PIF's administrative core, supporting Forum Leaders and member countries in making policy decisions. Fiji also hosts the main campus of the University of the South Pacific, the premier regional public research university. Outside the region, Fiji has a long history of providing troops to support UN peacekeeping operations. FI and the UnIted States The United States established diplomatic relations with Fiji in 1970, and the two countries have historically maintained positive relations, cooperating on a broad set of mutual interests including trade, development, and security. However, following a 2006 military coup that installed former Prime Minister Voreqe Frank Bainimarama, the United States halted security assistance to Fiji under Section 508 of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-102). Since return to free and fair elections in 2014 and the 2022 election of Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, U.S.-Fiji relations have expanded. Figure I. Fiji at a Glance The United States is Fiji's top export market. Trade between the United States and Fiji reached $360 million in 2023. That year, the top U.S. export was aircraft parts worth a total of $101 million. In 2020, Fiji signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement with the United States to facilitate deeper economic engagement. In 2022, Fiji became the first and only PIC to join the Biden Administration's Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programming in Fiji addresses a range of issues including democracy, governance, economic growth, disaster preparedness and response, environmental and climate issues, and health. In 2024, the United States and Fiji signed a Bilateral Framework Agreement that established a USAID Pacific Regional Office in Suva. Fiji is a party to the South Pacific Tuna Treaty (SPTT) between the United States and 16 PICs to provide access for U.S. tuna purse seine vessels to fish in PICs' waters in exchange for U.S. licensing fees. In 2024, Fiji endorsed and hosted the United States and eight PICs party to SPTT for the signing of a memorandum of understanding permitting U.S. fishing fleets to continue fishing in PIC exclusive economic zones. The United States has yet to enact changes to federal law reflecting 2016 amendments to the SPTT.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most