The Finance Committee of the U.S. Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would lift the ban on the re-importation of duty-free cigarettes that went into effect in January.
According to a statement from V.I. Delegate to Congress Donna Christian Christensen, the Senate committee also passed, with an amendment, the FSC Repeal and Extraterritorial Income Act of 2000, which passed the House of Representatives last week.
Christensen said in the statement she would work toward passage of the duty-free bill in the House.
"If the Senate Finance Committee action holds up, it would of course be wonderful news for the Virgin Islands and other duty-free areas because we will once again be permanently able to sell duty-free cigarettes," Christensen said in the statement.
In March, U.S. Customs agents began enforcing the ban on duty-free cigarettes, the sale of which is an integral part of the tourism economy in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
