US President Barack Obama’s administration on Tuesday lifted sanctions against 10 state-run companies and banks in Myanmar in response to the Southeast Asian nation’s historic transition to democracy, but it retained restrictions on trade and investment with the still-powerful military.
The US Department of the Treasury also amended regulations to support trade and financial transactions, intended to coax more US investment and support economic growth under the new civilian government in the country.
US Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said that by easing sanctions, the US wanted to demonstrate that there is a “dividend” for making the transition from “dictatorship to democracy.”
A new Burmese government took power last month after the party of former political prisoner and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi swept historic elections, ending five decades of direct military rule, but the military retains political clout and major economic interests.
“Our actions today demonstrate our strong support for this political and economic progress while continuing to pressure designated persons in Burma [Myanmar] to change their behavior,” acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam Szubin said in a statement.
The US waived its longstanding bans on investment and trade in 2012 after Myanmar began political and economic reforms, but has retained restrictions on dozens of companies and individuals designated by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control because they oppose reform, or are implicated in human rights abuses and military trade with North Korea. The US also prohibits arms trading and business with companies majority-owned by the military.
The US business lobby complains that despite the easing of the broad economic sanctions, doing business remains difficult in Myanmar, one of the last major untapped markets in Asia.
Although several major US firms like Coca-Cola, General Electric, Chevron and Caterpillar are now operating in Myanmar, US investment of US$248 million represents less than 1 percent of total foreign investment there, a much lower proportion than in other Southeast Asian countries.
Several US lawmakers welcomed Obama’s decision to renew his authority to impose sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese