In his meeting with Suu Kyi, Obama had hoped to ascertain whether the time was right to remove further economic sanctions on leaders in Myanmar given its ongoing move toward democracy.
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U.S. president says the removal of long-standing economic sanctions will help unleash Myanmar’s “enormous potential”. It was removed from GSP in 1989 after pro-democracy protests a year earlier were violently suppressed by the then ruling military junta.
Delphine Schrank, journalist and author of the Rebel of Rangoon, said that the USA has been “phasing” out sanctions, and while the business community in Myanmar and the United States would like them removed entirely, there is an understanding within Aung San Suu Kyi’s party and the U.S. government that the “game is not over” yet in the transition process.
Speaking to reporters, Obama did not specify a timeline for the sanctions to be lifted, other than saying that the process would occur “soon”.
The announcement from Obama came after his meeting with his fellow Nobel laureate and Myanmar Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi at the Oval Office of the White House.
In November, Myanmar will be back on the list of poor and developing countries benefiting from GSP, which grants preferential tariff treatment to certain products and significant tariff reductions.
According to a BBC report, Obama informed the Congress about the lifting of sanctions and said Myanmar would be added to the Generalised System of Preferences, which protects selected countries from high taxes.
The unmarked facade of the Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) headquarters – one of the country’s main military conglomerate under USA sanctions that runs business interests as diverse as construction, transport and brewing – is seen in Yangon on September 15, 2016.
After her meeting with Obama, Suu Kyi said, “We have a constitution that is not very democratic, because it gives the military a special place in politics”.
Suu Kyi said it was time to remove remaining sanctions, which have kept US companies and banks leery of involvement in one of Asia’s last untapped markets. Her official title is “state counselor”, but an audience in the Oval Office with Obama leaves little doubt of her stature.
The U.S. has also taken steps to make it easier for American companies to conduct business in Myanmar as Washington tries to reward efforts at democratic overhauls.
Under the country’s citizenship law, the Rohingya are not recognized as one of the country’s 135 official ethnic groups and are stateless. Scores of Rohingya Muslims have been the target of sectarian violence, which forced them to flee to neighbouring countries like Thailand and Malaysia.
As the military still holds key government features, including border monitoring and the armed forces, Suu Kyi did not push for the lifting of sanctions on military leaders.
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“It is clear that in setting up the Annan Commission, Suu Kyi is not merely looking for some diplomatic cover, but is making Rakhine State a priority and is serious about taking steps to address the situation”, Richard Horsey, an independent political analyst based in Myanmar, told Reuters news agency.
