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Kilili says it’s retailers’ right not to ship to NMI if they don’t want to
Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) said his office always contacts companies that do business online but don’t include the CNMI in their dropdown menus for deliveries.
Recently, CNMI residents complained through social media about certain online retailers that don’t deliver their products to the Commonwealth.
Upon reading the comments, Sablan explained to Internet-savvy island residents that his office actually reaches out to these online retailers and explain to them that the Commonwealth is part of the U.S.
“When any constituent reports that an online retailer does not list the Northern Mariana Islands and asks the congressional office for assistance, we contact the retailer. Of course, congressional ethics rules prevent us from pressuring any private business to take any action. But in some cases retailers have been unaware that the Marianas are part of the United States and have changed their dropdown menus, when we provide this information,” he said in an email to Saipan Tribune.
The four-term CNMI nonvoting delegate to Congress also said his office has many times had to explain to online retailers that the CNMI is being serviced by the U.S. Postal Service.
“We have also had some successes in getting information about U.S. Postal Service operations in the Northern Marianas. Sometimes retailers have been misinformed about whether USPS provides service and we have been able to help there.”
Sablan also wants to make it clear that the U.S. government does not have the authority to force any private business to do business anywhere the business chooses not to do business.
“I have explored this question with the legal counsel in the [U.S.] House of Representatives because I know that my constituents are sometimes frustrated by businesses that do not do business in the Northern Marianas. And the counsel I have received is that there is no constitutional authority for Congress to take action,” he said.
Some of the online retailers that do ship to the Commonwealth are WalMart, Old Navy, Toys R Us, Macy’s, Children’s Place, Zappos, 6pm, and Aeropostale, among others. Some retailers on eBay and Amazon also ship to the islands.
