On November 16, 2012, as President Obama was preparing to head to Asia on a trip that included a six-hour stop in Burma, the U.S. Departments of State and Treasury announced the issuance of a new general license that waives a nearly decade-old U.S. import ban on most Burmese-origin goods. The move represents the latest step in a process of targeted easing first proposed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in April 2012. On July 11, 2012, the administration eased restrictions on new investment in Burma and on the exportation of financial services to Burma. Clinton committed to lifting the import ban in September, following visits to the United States by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma’s President Thein Sein.
This Sidley Update was republished by ILO on its Trade & Customs Newsletter.