U.S. Business Community Applauds Appointment of Ambassador, Encourages Continued Movement on Sanctions

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the US-ASEAN Business Council, and the National Foreign Trade Council today issued the following joint statement strongly endorsing the appointment of Derek Mitchell as Ambassador to Myanmar.  The groups also endorsed the statement by the administration that the United States will suspend some of the economic sanctions it maintains against Myanmar.

“We applaud this announcement, which is a step forward in ending Myanmar’s international isolation. It demonstrates that the United States stands with other like-minded countries, including Australia, Canada, and the EU in recognizing the significant political and economic reforms that Myanmar has undertaken, and in seeking to ensure that the reform process continues.  We encourage Congress to move forward with this nomination quickly and look forward to working with Ambassador Mitchell as the administration moves forward on allowing the resumption of economic ties with Myanmar.

“We look forward to receiving clear guidelines from the administration on exactly what changes will be made to the sanctions regime. We welcome Secretary Clinton’s statement that American companies from all sectors will be able to work in Myanmar.  A situation where American companies are allowed to invest in certain sectors while excluding others will not prevent those sectors from being developed in Myanmar; it will simply ensure that our competitors fill the void, as they are already doing, and that jobs which could be given to American workers will go elsewhere.

“Further, we welcome Senator McCain’s recent call for American business to set the global standard for Corporate Social Responsibility in Myanmar.  This is an area where American companies are leaders, and their CSR initiatives will benefit the people of Myanmar, as will their high standards of transparency and corporate governance.  Myanmar’s leadership has made it clear that it welcomes American investment, and in many ways sees it as preferable to that of some of our competitors for precisely these reasons.

“We encourage the administration to continue to open pathways for economic engagement. We look forward to clear guidance on how businesses interested in working in Myanmar should proceed.”

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.