Editing Economy of Tuvalu (section)

==Government revenue==
Government revenues largely come from sales of [[postage stamp|stamp]]s and [[coin]]s, fishing licences, income from the [[Tuvalu Ship Registry]], income from the TTF, and from the lease of its highly fortuitous [[.tv]] [[Internet]] [[Top Level Domain]] (TLD).<ref name="KAP">{{cite news| last = Kaplan|first= Karen |title= Pacific island hits Internet letters jackpot | newspaper= Los Angeles Times |date =7 April 2000| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-apr-07-mn-16903-story.html | access-date=25 February 2017}}</ref><ref name="Conway">{{cite journal|author= Conway, James M.|url= http://www.islandstudies.ca/sites/islandstudies.ca/files/ISJ-10-2-Conway.pdf|title= Entrepreneurship, Tuvalu, development and .tv: a response|journal= Island Studies Journal|volume= 10|issue= 2|year= 2015|pages= 229–252|doi= 10.24043/isj.329|s2cid= 248650961|access-date= 2017-02-25|archive-date= 2021-10-19|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211019015241/https://www.islandstudies.ca/sites/islandstudies.ca/files/ISJ-10-2-Conway.pdf|url-status= dead}}</ref>

===Tuvalu Trust Fund===
[[File:Government office building.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Government office building in Funafuti]]
The [[Tuvalu Trust Fund]] was established for the intended purpose of helping to supplement national deficits, underpin economic development, and help the nation achieve greater financial autonomy.<ref name="GAO" /><ref name="PIR"/> The Trust Fund, has contributed roughly (A$79 million) 15% of the annual government budget each year since 1990.<ref name= NZAID/> With a capital value of about 2.5 times GDP, the Trust Fund provides an important cushion for Tuvalu's volatile income sources from fishing and royalties from the sale of the .tv domain.<ref name="IMF 2010"/> Meeting the needs of the 2013/14 budget of the Tuvaluan Government will require drawing from funds held in the “Consolidated Investment Fund” (CIF) of the [[Tuvalu Trust Fund]].

===Fishing Licenses===
Fishing licences are an important source of revenue. The fishing in the 900,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> of water area mainly consists of [[Skipjack Tuna]], [[Yellowfin Tuna]] and [[Bigeye Tuna]]. Payments from [[US government]] made under the South Pacific Tuna Treaty (SPTT) was about $9&nbsp;million in 1999.<ref name="SPTT"/> In May 2013 representatives from the United States and the Pacific Islands countries agreed to sign interim arrangement documents to extend the Multilateral Fisheries Treaty (which encompasses the South Pacific Tuna Treaty) to confirm access to the fisheries in the Western and Central Pacific for US tuna boats for 18 months.<ref name="PNG100513">{{cite web | work= US Embassy – Papua New Guinea | title= United States and Pacific Islands Strengthen Fisheries Cooperation | date= 10 May 2013 | url= http://portmoresby.usembassy.gov/mr2013_051013.html | access-date= 3 September 2013 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060245/http://portmoresby.usembassy.gov/mr2013_051013.html | archive-date= 21 September 2013 | url-status= dead }}</ref><ref name="RA160513">{{cite web |last=Coutts |first=Geraldine |date=16 May 2013 |title=US signs new tuna agreement with the Pacific |url=http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/pacific-beat/us-signs-new-tuna-agreement-with-the-pacific/1131586 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101153815/http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/pacific-beat/us-signs-new-tuna-agreement-with-the-pacific/1131586 |archive-date=2014-11-01 |access-date=2024-07-03 |work=Radio Australia}}</ref> In 2015, Tuvalu has refused to sell fishing days to certain nations and fleets that have blocked Tuvaluan initiatives to develop and sustain their own fishery.<ref name="PAC_120615">{{cite web |url=http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=309639 |title=Tuvalu refuses to sell fishing days |date=13 June 2015 |work=The Fijian Times Online (PNA/PACNEWS) |access-date=13 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807133011/http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=309639 |archive-date=7 August 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2016, Dr [[Puakena Boreham]], the Minister of Natural Resources, drew attention to Article 30 of the WCPF Convention, which describes the collective obligation of members to consider the disproportionate burden that management measures might place on small-island developing states.<ref name="PB16">{{cite web| work= Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA)| title= TWCPFC13: Don't forget Article 30- Tuvalu reminds Tuna Commission of 'disproportionate burden' for SIDS| date= 5 December 2016| url= http://www.ffa.int/node/1831| access-date= 10 December 2016| archive-date= 20 December 2016| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161220180944/http://www.ffa.int/node/1831| url-status= dead}}</ref>

===.tv Domain===
The [[.tv|".tv" domain name]] generates around A$7 million each year from royalties. In 2019, 8.4% of total government revenue came from .tv royalties.<ref name="Government of Tuvalu 2019 National Budget">{{cite web |last1=Toafa |first1=Maatia |title=Government of Tuvalu 2019 National Budget |url=https://www.tuvaluaudit.tv/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/FINALE-2019-NATIONAL-BUDGET_approved-by-Parliament_17Dec.pdf |access-date=13 December 2022 |archive-date=28 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328094028/https://www.tuvaluaudit.tv/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/FINALE-2019-NATIONAL-BUDGET_approved-by-Parliament_17Dec.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The domain name is sought after due to its similarity to the abbreviation of the word [[television]].<ref>Cohen, Noam, A newly valuable virtual address, New York Times, August 27, 2014, pp. B1 and B5</ref><ref name=WP01219>{{cite news|first=Alexander|last=Lee |title=Tuvalu is a tiny island nation of 11,000 people. It's cashing in thanks to Twitch |newspaper= Washington Post|date=23 December 2019|url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2019/12/23/tuvalu-is-tiny-island-nation-people-its-cashing-thanks-twitch/|access-date=26 December 2019}}</ref>
[[Verisign|VeriSign, Inc]] managed the .tv domain with the agreement running until 2021.<ref name="BERK">{{cite web| last = Berkens|first= Michael |title= VeriSign renews contract with Tuvalu to run .TV registry through 2021| publisher= The Domains|date =25 February 2012|url= http://www.thedomains.com/2012/02/25/| access-date=25 February 2017}}</ref> On 14 December 2021 the [[Ministry of Justice, Communication and Foreign Affairs]] of the Tuvalu Government announced that they had selected [[GoDaddy|GoDaddy Registry]] as the new registry service provider, after Verisign did not participate in the process.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-12-14|title=GoDaddy wins contract to run .TV, Verisign didn't bid for renewal|url=https://domainnamewire.com/2021/12/14/godaddy-wins-contract-to-run-tv-verisign-didnt-bid-for-renewal/|access-date=2022-01-30|website=domainnamewire.com|language=en}}</ref>
The success of [[Twitch (service)|Twitch.tv]] and other esports and video game platforms means that Tuvalu can expect to derive increased revenue from the domain.<ref name=WP01219/>

===Economic Assessment===
The Asian Development Bank described the Global Economic Crisis (GEC) as impacting on Tuvalu through: “(i) lower demand for Tuvalu seafarers and, therefore, falling remittances; (ii) volatile exchange rate movements affecting the value of remittances, revenues from fishing licence fees, and food prices; and (iii) lower market value of the Tuvalu Trust Fund (TTF), which at the end of May 2010 was about 12% below the maintained value. Thus, as a direct result of the GEC, no distribution was made from the fund to the budget for 2010 and further distributions are unlikely while there is uncertainty in international financial markets.”<ref name="ADB COBP">{{cite web |title= Tuvalu: Country Operations Business Plan (2012-2014) |url= http://beta.adb.org/documents/tuvalu-country-operations-business-plan-2012-2014 |publisher= Asian Development Bank |date= April 2011 |access-date= 4 September 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120318035922/http://beta.adb.org/documents/tuvalu-country-operations-business-plan-2012-2014 |archive-date= 18 March 2012 |url-status= dead }}</ref>

The IMF 2010 Country Report describes economic activity in Tuvalu as dampened by lower offshore earnings, with “[t]he economy is expected to have almost no growth in 2010, and growth is projected to be zero or even turn negative in 2011, led by lower government spending, and remain low over the medium term.”<ref name="IMF 2010"/>

The IMF 2014 Country Report noted that real GDP growth had been volatile averaging only 1 percent in the past decade. The 2014 Country Report describes economic growth prospects as generally positive as the result of large revenues from fishing licenses, together with substantial foreign aid, "while, over the  medium to long run, growth prospects may be hampered by the dominance of  inefficient public enterprise in the economy, uncertainty in the fisheries sector, and weak  competitiveness."<ref name="IMF2014">{{cite web|title= Tuvalu: 2014 Article IV Consultation-Staff Report; Public Information Notice on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Tuvalu|url= https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2014/cr14253.pdf|publisher= International Monetary Fund Country Report No. 14/253|date=5 August 2014|access-date=21 March 2016}}</ref>

The IMF 2021 Country Report concluded that swift implementation of [[COVID-19]] containment measures and COVID-related fiscal spending financed by buoyant fishing revenues and donor grants have allowed Tuvalu to avoid a recession in 2020.<ref name="IMF2021"/>