Today, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) officially moved Myanmar onto the agency’s blacklist, where it joins Iran and North Korea, the only other two listed countries. It is likely that the United States and other countries will take the FATF designation as grounds to impose financial sanctions on the country, likely focusing on its central bank and financial institutions.
Continue Reading Myanmar Sanctions – A Last Resort Against a Non-Cooperating Country
On February 1, 2021, the Myanmar military overthrew the country’s democratically elected government and installed an army general as head of state, with a cadre of military officials and their allies running the government.
Continue Reading U.S. Imposes Sanctions Measures Targeting Myanmar Military Government
By: Reid Whitten
Although the traditional Burmese New Year actually falls in April, many U.S. companies are turning a new page on their calendars with thoughts of the new opportunities that await in the rapidly-opening southeast Asian nation. This past year, this blog tracked the reduction of restrictions imposed on Burma by the United States. To round out 2012 and kick off 2013, we present a few New Year’s resolutions that U.S. companies may consider as they approach a country offering great potential growth but pitted with potential legal challenges.
Continue Reading Foreign Investment in Burma: Resolutions for Business in a Very New Year
By: Thad McBride and Cheryl Palmeri
As we have reported in recent months, the United States consistently has been taking steps to expand diplomatic and commercial relations with Myanmar. And in recent weeks, that effort has continued.
To begin with, on September 26, 2012, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Myanmar President Thein Sein that the United States intends to ease its ban on imports from Myanmar. The import ban is the most significant remaining restriction on U.S. trade with Myanmar. Lifting it is unlikely to unleash a flood of imports into the United States from Myanmar, but it will nonetheless be an important step to demonstrate that the United States really is ready to establish normal – or close to normal – trading relations with Myanmar.
Continue Reading Update on U.S.-Myanmar Relations: The Thaw Continues
By: Reid Whitten and Cheryl Palmeri
On July 11, 2012, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued two general licenses lifting long-standing sanctions against Myanmar. The licenses were issued in response to historic reforms that have taken place in the country over the past year, the details of which we reported in this blog in February and May of this year.
Continue Reading OFAC Authorizes the Exportation of Financial Services to and New Investment in Myanmar
By: Scott Maberry and Cheryl Palmeri
The U.S. government has taken another in a series of steps relaxing the sanctions it imposes against Myanmar, a country the Obama Administration still refers to by its pre-coup name, Burma. On April 17, 2012, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License No. 14-C (General License), authorizing certain financial transactions in support of humanitarian, religious, and other not-for-profit activities in Myanmar. This General License – which permits transactions previously prohibited under U.S. sanctions laws – is the U.S. government’s most recent move to scale back its restrictions on trade with Myanmar.
Continue Reading Loosening Up: New Developments in Sanctions Against Myanmar
By: Thad McBride and Corey Phelps
The situation in Myanmar continues to bear watching. While the United States and many other Western governments have maintained economic sanctions on the country for the last ten years or more, recent steps by Myanmar’s government suggest that sanctions on the country could soon be eased or even eliminated.
Continue Reading Myanmar Update: Recent Actions Increase Likelihood Sanctions Will Be Eased
By: David Gallacher and Thaddeus McBride
In 2011, the world experienced historic events, particularly with regard to the Arab Spring and the violent repression that followed in nations like Libya and Syria. 2011 witnessed the expansion of a number of international sanctions programs, most particularly tied to political developments in countries such as Iran, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Cuba, and North Korea. Following is a summary of key developments in U.S. sanctions during 2011, as well as a brief look ahead at what may happen in 2012 in countries such as Iran, Yemen, and Myanmar (Burma).
Continue Reading International Sanctions – Updates to U.S. Sanctions Laws in 2011