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Christensen Will Talk Tobacco At White House 

Delegate to Congress Donna Christian-Christensen will meet this week with representatives of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and U.S. Customs to try to find the quickest way to rescind a law that bans U.S. tourists from returning home with cigarettes or other tobacco products they buy in the Virgin Islands.

She was reacting to a story Tuesday on the Source about the new law that took business and government leaders by surprise. Christensen said the legislation was passed in 1997, and the provision concerning the re-importation of American tobacco to the U.S. mainland went into effect Jan. 1 of this year. . . It is still unclear how much the tobacco industry is worth to the Virgin Islands. Some estimates put it as high as $20 million.

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