Macau – United States relations are

bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...

between

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Political relationship

In recognition of Macau's high degree of autonomy, the United States continues to treat Macau as a "special area" distinct from the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

: e. g., the sanctions imposed on China after the June 1989 violence in

Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square () is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen ("''Gate of Heavenly Peace''") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains th ...

do not apply to Macau. For the DV-Lottery, those who were born in

Mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

are not eligible to apply, whereas persons born in Macau are qualified. The U.S. government supports Macau's autonomy by strengthening bilateral ties through the promotion of bilateral trade and investment, law enforcement cooperation, academic and cultural links, and high-level dialogue and visits. After the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, Macau officials pledged full cooperation with the U.S. and global efforts against terrorism. The

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

passed an anti-terrorism law in April 2002 that includes provisions that are consistent with the requirements of UN Security Council Resolution 1373.

Economic relations

Macau's clothes and textiles continued to enter the United States under quotas separated from those of China. Under the terms of a September 2000 bilateral Memorandum of Understanding, Macau and the US government cooperate in enforcing textile quotas and preventing illegal trans-shipment. The US continued periodic visits by U.S. Customs Textile Production Verification Teams to ensure compliance with Macau bilateral textile commitments. The protection of intellectual property rights remains a priority issue on the U.S.-Macau bilateral economic agenda. Macau's progress since 1999 in strengthening IPR laws, tightening controls over DVD and

VCD Video CD (abbreviated as VCD, and also known as Compact Disc Digital Video), (not to be confused with CD Video which is a type of LaserDisc, Laserdisc) is a home video format and the first format for distributing films on standard optical di ...

manufacturing, and stepping up street-level IPR enforcement resulted in Macau being removed from USTR's Special 301 list in 2002. Macau's new customs service worked with U.S. industry associations and maintained high tempo operations to combat pirac

U.S. investment in Macau, while small in the past, is expected to increase in the coming years as the result of the 2002 awarding of two gaming concessions to consortia with U.S. interests. Though trade with Macau represents a small portion of U.S. trade, the United States was Macau's second-largest trading partner after the

. U.S. exports to and imports from Macau in 2002 were US$79 million and US$1.2 billion, respectively. After the Macau government ended the 40-year-old gaming

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

of the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau (STDM) in February 2002, the government awarded concessions to three consortia, including two with significant U.S. investment. The restructuring of the gaming industry remains the centerpiece of Macau - efforts to improve its international reputation and become a

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

-like gaming, convention, and family-oriented holiday destination. The possible new investment of US$1.5-2.5 billion in the medium term will increase jobs and income and dramatically raise the U.S. business profile in Macau. US investment in Macau is largely centered on gambling, with five out of thirteen of Macau's casinos being owned by US companies.

Offices and officials

The U.S. Government has no offices in Macau. U.S. interests are represented by the Consulate General of the United States in Hong Kong. Macau has two tourist offices in the United States in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macau-United States relations

Bilateral relations of the United States China–United States relations

Political relationship

Economic relations

Offices and officials

See also

References