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Starkist: Hatch, Amata bills would help tuna workers in Am Samoa

StarKist & Co is expressing gratitude over legislation that could help make it easier for its workers at tuna processing facilities in American Samoa to travel between islands.

US senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican who recently announced he will retire at the end of the year, introduced S. 2348 on Thursday. The bill serves as a companion to HR 276, which passed the House of Representatives earlier this month and would allow foreign air carriers to seek exemptions to permit requirements for emergency flights between the islands of Tutuila and Manu'a every six months. Carriers must currently request such exemptions every 30 days.

The House bill was earlier introduced by Aumua Amata Radewagen, a Republican from the US territory of America Samoa, who said the new measure could encourage competition among carriers.

The House bill was earlier introduced by Aumua Amata Radewagen, a Republican from the US territory of America Samoa, who said the new measure could encourage competition among carriers.

Andrew Choe, the president and CEO of Starkist, a subsidiary of Dongwon Enterprise, a South Korean conglomerate with extensive seafood assets, on Friday issued a statement to thank Hatch for his bill, noting that his company has been a presence in America Samoa since 1963 and employs about 2,300 workers there.  

"As it is becoming increasingly difficult for American Samoa to compete with other manufacturing locations where labor costs and other expenses are substantially lower and subsidized, Senator Hatch’s legislation eases one of these obstacles," Choe said.

Read more at Undercurrent News