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NOTE—Following a period of U.S. administration of the Northern Mariana Islands as a post-World War II trust territory [see, e.g., E.O. 11021 (May 7, 1962)], in 1976 Congress approved the mutually negotiated “Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States.” The commonwealth government adopted its own constitution in 1977, and the constitutional government took office in January 1978. The covenant was fully implemented on November 3, 1986, pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 5564, which conferred U.S. citizenship on legally qualified commonwealth residents. Under the covenant, in general, U.S. federal law applies to the commonwealth, with certain exceptions. (1) The commonwealth is not within the customs territory of the United States. (2) Federal minimum wage provisions do not apply. (3) Federal immigration laws do not apply. (4) The commonwealth can determine its own tax structure.
¶ Presidential Proclamations [National Archives & Records Administration] — These are proclamations concerning the commonwealth. ¶ Executive Order 12572 (Nov. 3, 1986) — Relations with the Northern Mariana Islands