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I.
II. Legal The President of the United States signed Executive Order 13047 invoking the authority of section570(d)of the Foriegn Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1997 and of section 203 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose a ban on new investment by U.S. persons in Burma effective May 21,1997. The order prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in any of the following activities if they are undertaken pursuant to an agreement, or pursuant to the exercise of rights under such an agreement, that is entered into with the Government of Burma or a nongovernmental entity in Burma on or after May 21, 1997.
III. Geography
Many of the citizens of Burma remain in exile because of fear of persecution and poor economic conditions. About 21,000 Rohingya Muslims from Arakan state remain in camps in Bangladesh. A few thousand students and dissidents remain in Thailand. Approximately 119,000 individuals now reside in ethnic minority camps along the Thai-Burma border, among them thousands of new arrivals driven out by army attacks in the area controlled by the Karen and Karenni ethnic minorities.
IV. Trade US Economic Sanction:
As long as Burma's military dictators hold on to power without regard for a national reconciliation that would lead to peace, stability and economic progress, the United States policy will still remain the same. The plan for implementations of Section 570 of Public Law 104-208 submitted to the U.S. Congress on June 24, 1998.
Japanese ODA for Burma:
The analysis of the resumption of yen loans for Burma by the Japanese government is often reported by Japanese media. The yen loans are not to be resumed until the military junta shows visible progress towards democracy. This was the clear policy of the Hashimoto cabinet and the newly built Obuchi cabinet will continue this policy. However, in spite of the growing demand for the termination of ODA to Burma from pro-democracy activists, the government of Japan continues to give ODA to Burma. Following is the list of Japanese ODA:
-The US economic sanction has severe impact on Burma not only directly but also indirectly. Growing political objections to the country have precluded most international banks from lending to the country. Chase Manhattan and Citibank were forced to pull out of a US$ 100 million one-year loan for Thai company PTT Exploration and Production pcl in July because funds were to be used for the construction of a pipeline to Myanmar.
-While the US imposed sanctions, Japan still has good-will ties with the junta. Japanese government determines that the constructive engagement with the military government is more productive to move the country toward democracy. Japanese attitude is more acceptable to dictators than US approach. Japan always tries to show their affirmation even if progress is far beyond that of international request. The results of this attitude hopefully lead the military junta to listen to the voices of Japanese officials.
Export as % GDP: % annual growth rate in 1980-1992
*The data are from UNDP "Trends in Economic Performance".
-Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar(UN Special Rapporteur) Nov. / Dec., 1997.
-CRS Report for Congress, Burma-US Relations, July 4 , 1997.
-The Union of Myanmar: Review of the Financial, Economic and Social Cond
itions for 1996-97, Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development,
1997.
-Trends in Economic Performance, UNDP, 1998.
20
V. Impacts
13. Direct and Indirect Impacts:
14. Relation of Trade Measure to Environmental Impact
15. Trade Product Identification: many
16. Economic Data
Burma is an underdeveloped country, with an average per capita GDP of $200 to $300.
Even after adjusting for the relative purchasing power of the Burmese currency, per capita GDP is perhaps $600 to $900.
The Data of Economic Performance in Burma
GNP growth rate(%)
Export as of % of GDP
Burma
1.6
4
All developing countries
3
3.3
Least developed countries
0.4
0.7
Progress on market reforms has been mixed and uneven. Beginning in 1988 the Government partly opened the economy to permit expansion of the private sector and to attract foreign
investment. Though modest economic improvement ensued, since 1993 the pace of economic reform
has slowed and major obstacles to further reform persist. These include disproportionately
large military spending, extensive overt and covert state involvement in economic activity, excessive state monopolization of leading exports, a bloated bureaucracy prone to arbitrary
and opaque governance, and poor human and physical infrastructure. In addition, the most
important factor is that the SLORC does not have access to external credit from the IMF,
the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Money laundering in Burma is a growing problem,
and the laundering of drug profits is thought by some analysts to have widespread impact
on the Burmese economy.
17. Impact of Trade Restriction: high
The European Union and Japan called for a World Trade Organization dispute panel over a controversial Massachusetts state law barring procurement from companies trading with Burma in September, 1998. The National Foreign Trade Council representing 580 companies, including many of the biggest US multinationals urged that the law effectively bars companies doing business with Burma from bidding for public contracts in Massachusetts, worth about $2 billion a year. According to the paper in the federal court, 346 companies were affected, and Apple, the computer group, has cited the law as one reason for withdrawing from Burma. The NFTC argues that the law violates the US consitution, which says making foreign policy and regulating foreign trade are federal rights. They say that the law breaches the WTO's government procurement agreement, which is designed to prevent procurement
decision being based on political factors.
18. Industry Sector: many
19. Exporters and Importers: US and Burma
V. Environment
20. Environmental Problem Type: non
21. Name, Type, and Diversity of Species: not relevant
22. Resource Impact and Effect: depletion of natural resources
23. Urgency and Lifetime: low
24. Substitutes: no products
VI. Other
25. Culture: yes
26. Trans-Boundary Issues: refugees
Since the early 1990s, not only has the number of refugees fleeing the country risen dramatically, but the reason they are leaving have multiplied. The vast majority of people fleeing are members of Burma ethnic and religious minorities and they are leaving as a result of human rights abuses.
27. Rights: human rights
The United Nations, US State Department, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other NGOs have credibly documented that the SLORC routinely tortures its political op
ponents, uses forced labor on a massive scale construction projects, and encourages the rape of ethnic minority women.
28. Relevant Literature:
-"US Sanctions Against Burma: A Failure On All Fronts" by Leon T.
Hadar.
-The End-