Myanmar gives cautious welcome to lifting of US trade restrictions
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A senior Myanmar commerce official and the chief executive of a major conglomerate gave a cautious welcome Tuesday to news that the US would allow trade through more ports and airports in Myanmar despite sanctions.
Certain trade hubs, including the main port in Yangon, have been forbidden from handling US trade because the entities in charge of the facilities were blacklisted.
US officials said Monday they would lift the restrictions for the next six months in an effort to boost the country's move towards democracy, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, one month after landmark elections won by the opposition.
"It is good for both Myanmar and US, as it is still difficult for them to trade because of sanctions," said a deputy director of the Ministry of Commerce, who asked not to be named.
"But it is just a temporary lifting. So, we can't hope for much," he told dpa by phone.
The main Yangon port is run by blacklisted businessman Steven Law and his company Asia World Co, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Another blacklisted figure, Khin Shwe, the chairman of large construction and telecoms conglomerate Zaykabar Company, said the move was "just a start."
"I believe US will remove its sanctions sooner or later as US companies need to do business with Myanmar firms that are still on the sanctions list," said Khin Shwe, who is also a member of parliament for the ruling party. He lost his upper house seat in last month's elections.
US firms face difficulties trading with Myanmar as dozens of people and companies are still on the US sanctions blacklist, among them the country's most important economic players.
Many international sanctions on Myanmar have been lifted in the past five years as the government enacted democratic reforms and opened up its economy, which was isolated for decades from foreign investment.
