Industrial Development in an Island Economy: US Trade Policy and Canned Tuna Production in American Samoa

Abstract

It is widely argued that small states and territories have relied upon the strategic trade and economic policies of larger countries to achieve development goals. Using the case of the export-oriented tuna industry in American Samoa (a territory of the United States), we argue that its status as a sub-national island jurisdiction (SNIJ) has been essential in jumpstarting and supporting industrial development. However, this relationship and its associated benefits are just one set of factors that influence the economic development opportunities and constraints that American Samoa’s tuna industry faces in the contemporary world economy. Moreover, the maintenance and future possibilities for industrial development in both SNIJs and (arguably) more economically vulnerable sovereign small developing island states (SIDS), is increasingly unlikely in the context of a globalizing capitalism and the new international trade regime.