US temporarily lifts trade restrictions on Myanmar shipping hubs
The United States is temporarily easing trade restrictions on Myanmar by allowing all shipments to go through its ports and airports for six months, an effort to boost the Southeast Asian country's opposition party after its landmark election win in November.
The policy change, coming after Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory last month in Myanmar's first nationwide free elections in 25 years, applies even to ports and airports controlled by entities on the US sanctions blacklist.
To bolster Myanmar's transition to democracy after decades of military rule, US officials began lifting sanctions against the country after a civilian government was formed in 2011. But officials acknowledged on December 7 that remaining US sanctions against those with ties to Myanmar's military have had the unintended consequence of halting "many, many dozens" of shipments.
Reuters reported last month that major US banks, such as Citigroup, Bank of America and PNC Financial were shying away from backing Myanmar trade after discovering that the Asia World port – one of the country's most important shipping terminals - is controlled by a businessman on America’s sanctions blacklist.
Exporters use trade finance from banks to ensure they get paid after shipments arrive, and the banks’ withdrawal has led to a sharp decline in US shipments into Myanmar.
Years after the US began to lift its near-total ban on trade with Myanmar, more than a hundred people and companies remain on the US sanctions blacklist, some of them the country's biggest economic players, creating a minefield for Western businesses seeking to profit from the new openings.