Relatively high shipping costs and shipping delays continue to be a challenge for most businesses.  Despite reforms to improve the ease of doing business, businesses continue to experience a slow bureaucracy with lengthy wait times due to understaffing (labor shortages), inefficient and inconsistent processing of government approvals, licenses, and customs clearance.  Fiji’s infrastructure such as roads and bridges lack maintenance.  The cost of setting up new establishments in rural and peri-urban areas can be especially high if there are no ready-access roads, electricity supply, and water and sewerage systems.  Time differences are a challenge for businesses in the United States.  The Fiji government’s tax regulations and foreign exchange requirements on profit remittance is a common challenge experienced by foreign businesses.  Fiji’s fragile environment means that sustainable development practices need to be adopted to avoid the depletion of natural resources.  Fiji’s market challenges are largely due to its isolation from developed markets, geographical layout (330 scattered islands), and small market size.