The U.S. said it would begin to ease a long-standing import ban on
Myanmar, providing a boost to President Thein Sein as he carries out political
and economic overhauls that have transformed the former military state into a
hot Asian frontier market.
Washington has already loosened
some of its sanctions against Myanmar in recognition of its reforms over the
past 18 months, including the release of political prisoners and the
introduction of free elections.
"In recognition of the
continued progress toward reform and in response to requests from both the
government and the opposition, the United States is taking the next step in
normalizing our commercial relations," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
said Wednesday before meeting with Mr. Thein Sein at the United Nations General
Assembly in New York. "We hope this will provide more opportunities for
your people to sell their goods into our market."
Mr. Thein Sein said the move
encouraged him, adding, "We still need to continue our path toward
democratic reforms."
The U.S. has prepared to lift the
import ban for months. Congress in August renewed legislation that left the
sanction for another year, but it contained a provision enabling President
Barack Obama to waive the law.
Many analysts say the U.S. has
been waiting for a signal from Aung San Suu Kyi—the country's Nobel Peace
Prize-winning political prisoner-turned-opposition leader—before taking further
action. Last week she showed her support for lifting the import ban during a
U.S. visit. She had supported sanctions against the previous military
regime.The release of more political prisoners this month, nearly 90, also
helped lay the ground for the U.S. to act, although human-rights groups say
hundreds more are still imprisoned.
The U.S. move also raises Mr.
Thein Sein's profile. In the past he often has been overshadowed by Ms. Suu
Kyi, who last week met privately with Mr. Obama and received Congress's highest
award. Now, U.S. officials appear anxious to emphasize the Myanmar president's
importance to the reform process still under way in the country.
Last week, the U.S. Treasury
Department had said it removed sanctions on the retired general and the leader of
the lower house of Myanmar's parliament, Shwe Mann, that blocks access to
property and assets.
Economists such as Sean Turnell,
a Myanmar expert at Australia's Macquarie University, describe the lifting of
the import ban as providing an economic dividend for the political changes in
the country. It also potentially provides a large new market for Myanmar-made
products, which could accelerate the flow of foreign investment into the
country.
The U.S. has already removed its
ban on American investment in Myanmar. The European Union, too, has dropped
many of its sanctions.
Now, removing the import ban
could help the manufacturing sector, in particular, to create jobs and ease
some of the chronic poverty that plagues this country of 60 million people,
after decades of military control. Economists suggest that the textiles
industry could receive a boost from the latest U.S. measure.
Myanmar was once a major exporter
of clothing and other apparel to the West before trade sanctions were imposed
in the 1990s. The agricultural and fisheries sectors could also get a boost.
Local business leaders in Myanmar
welcomed the U.S. move, saying it would help encourage more democratic reform
and potentially sideline conservative hard-liners who were skeptical about the
rapid changes in the country.
"Myanmar has earned
it!" Maung Maung Lay, vice president of the Myanmar Federated Chambers of
Commerce, said by email. "All nations should help us to prevent the
'miscarriage' of our democracy in its embryonic stage."
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