USTR Reacts to Myanmar/Burma Military Coup

Ray Bucheger, FBB Federal Relations

In addition to the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, the US had reinstated Burma as a GSP beneficiary country back in November 2016 after the country worked to improve worker rights. The United States had previously suspended Burma’s GSP benefits in 1989 on worker rights grounds, following the violent suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations and strikes in 1988. GSP is currently expired, but the Biden Administration has said it wants to work with Congress to renew the program.
 
This announcement follows an announcement last week that the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned two Burma military holding companies that control significant segments of the country’s economy, including trading, natural resources, alcohol, cigarettes and consumer goods. That announcement can be found here: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0078?source=email