Boosting reforms: US lifts ban on most Myanmar imports

WASHINGTON: Moving to encourage reform in Myanmar ahead of a landmark trip by President Barack Obama, the US scrapped a nearly decade-old ban on most imports from the long-isolated nation. The world’s largest economy will open up to products from the country formerly known as Burma with the exception of gems, a sector seen as a major driver of corruption and violence. The gesture is “intended to support the Burmese government’s ongoing reform efforts and to encourage further change, as well as to offer new opportunities for Burmese and American businesses,” a statement from the State and Treasury departments said. The move can bring major growth to Myanmar’s garment industry, Total US imports from Myanmar hit a high of $470 million in 2001.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2012.