U.S. Business Community Welcomes Easing of EU Sanctions Against Myanmar

Groups Call on U.S. Government to Suspend Sanctions, End Isolation of Southeast Asian Nation

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Foreign Trade Council, and the US-ASEAN Business Council issued the following statement after the European Union’s announcement that it will suspend sanctions against Myanmar:

“We welcome the Myanmar government’s continued efforts toward reform and applaud its move towards democratization.  As efforts toward reform continue, we call on the U.S. government to expand its engagement in support of the Southeast Asian nation.”  

“Further developments warrant further steps.  The U.S. government can support continued reform by easing and suspending the web of sanctions, particularly on financial services and investment, that not only prevent U.S. economic and commercial engagement, but which are increasingly recognized as obstacles to further economic growth and development in Myanmar. 

“U.S. companies are partners with the communities in which they operate. They are powerful contributors to economic growth, development, and higher living standards, as the experience of Myanmar’s neighbors has demonstrated. Their admittance into the country will bring with them respect for rule of law and labor rights, and contribute to a more stable and open society.  

“The EU’s announcement today that it is lifting its sanctions adds urgency.  Failure by the United States to take similar steps will do more than put American companies at a commercial disadvantage vis-a-vis their competitors; it will harm the reform process itself by undermining those in Myanmar who have supported reform.”

The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) is the historic U.S. business organization advocating a rules-based world economy. Founded in 1914 by a group of American companies that supported an open world trading system, the NFTC and its affiliates serve more than 300 member companies through offices in Washington and New York.”

The US-ASEAN Business Council has represented the largest U.S. companies doing business in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for over 25 years. Council members span all industry sectors, and include newcomers to the region as well as those active in Southeast Asia for over 100 years.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.