President Barack Obama on Friday lifted U.S. economic sanctions on Myanmar, the culmination of years of rapprochement that he has worked to facilitate.

Mr. Obama had announced plans to lift the sanctions last month, when Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi visited the Oval Office.

The U.S. has already eased broad prohibitions on investment and trade but had retained more targeted restrictions on military-owned companies and officials and associates of the former ruling junta.

Friday’s executive order lifts those restrictions. It removes the national emergency with respect to Myanmar — the executive order authorising sanctions that has been renewed annually by different U.S. Presidents for about two decades till now. </s> President Barack Obama said on Wednesday the United States was prepared to lift sanctions on Myanmar "soon" and that democratic progress in the country was incomplete but on the right track.

During a meeting with Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi at the White House, Obama said the U.S. moves would give incentives to businesses to invest in the Asian country.

Suu Kyi, visiting the White House for the first time since her party won a sweeping victory in last year's election, said it was time for all sanctions that hurt her country economically to be lifted. </s> Obama says U.S. is prepared to lift Myanmar sanctions "soon"

WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday the United States was prepared to lift sanctions on Myanmar "soon" and that democratic progress in the country was incomplete but on the right track.

During a meeting with Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi at the White House, Obama said the U.S. moves would give incentives to businesses to invest in the Asian country.

Suu Kyi, visiting the White House for the first time since her party won a sweeping victory in last year's election, said it was time for all sanctions that hurt her country economically to be lifted. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Paul Simao) </s> Washington (AP) — President Barack Obama said Wednesday the U.S. is lifting economic sanctions and restoring trade benefits to former pariah state Myanmar as he met with Aung San Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner who is now the nation’s de facto leader.

Obama hailed a “remarkable” transformation in the country, which spent five decades under oppressive military rule. Suu Kyi’s party swept historic elections last November, and the visit by the 71-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, deeply respected in Washington, is a crowning occasion in the Obama administration’s support for Myanmar’s shift to democracy, which the administration views as a major foreign policy achievement.

The U.S. has eased broad economic sanctions since political reforms began five years ago and Obama has visited the country twice. But the U.S. has retained more targeted restrictions on military-owned companies and officials and associates of the former ruling junta. U.S. companies and banks have remained leery of involvement in one of Asia’s last untapped markets.

“The United States is now prepared to lift sanctions that we have imposed on Burma for quite some time,” Obama said as he sat alongside Suu Kyi in the Oval Office. He said it was “the right thing to do” to ensure Myanmar benefits from its transition. Asked by a reporter when sanctions would be lifted, Obama said “soon.”

Suu Kyi concurred it was time to remove all the sanctions that had hurt the economy. She urged Americans to come to the country and “to make profits.”

Congressional aides said that Suu Kyi requested the removal of the national emergency with respect to Myanmar — the executive order authorizing sanctions that has been renewed annually by U.S. presidents for two decades.

The Treasury Department said that Obama’s decision will be legally effective when he issues a new executive order to terminate the emergency. A U.S. official said that 111 Myanmar individuals and companies will be dropped from a Treasury blacklist and restrictions will be lifted on new investment with military and on the imports of rubies and jade. But penalties intended to block the drug trade and to bar military trade with North Korea would still apply, as would a visa ban barring some former and current members of the military from traveling to the U.S.

The official and aides spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce hailed the announcement as “historic.” But human rights groups say there are powerful reasons for retaining sanctions. Military abuses continue in ethnic minority regions. Rohingya Muslims remain displaced by sectarian violence and denied citizenship. The military and its associates still have huge stakes in the economy.

“Obama and Suu Kyi just took important tools out of their collective tool kit for dealing with the Burmese military, and threw them into the garbage,” said John Sifton, deputy Washington director for Human Rights Watch.

Transparency watchdog Global Witness says Myanmar’s jade industry, based in a northern region plagued by civil conflict, is dominated by a military elite, U.S.-sanctioned drug lords and crony companies. It estimates the industry is worth nearly half of the nation’s economic output.

Suu Kyi addressed problems in western Rakhine state, where more than 100,000 Rohingyas remain stuck in camps, separated from Buddhists who are the majority in Myanmar. She said everyone entitled to citizenship in Myanmar should get it.

“We are sincere in trying to bring together the different communities,” Suu Kyi said.

The White House also notified Congress on Wednesday it would be reinstating in November trade benefits to Myanmar because of its progress on workers’ rights. The benefits were suspended in 1989, a year after the bloody crackdown on democracy protesters by the military.

Suu Kyi last visited Washington in 2012 when she was still opposition leader. On that occasion, she was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal, the legislature’s highest civilian honor, which she had been awarded in 2008 while under house arrest.

Now she is de facto leader of the country with the title of state counsellor although a junta-era constitution still enshrines the military’s role in politics and bars her from the presidency.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest pushed back on the notion the U.S. was undercutting its leverage over Myanmar on human rights and constitutional reforms by lifting sanctions. He said greater U.S. engagement would promote its ability to promote change. </s> WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the U.S. is lifting economic sanctions and restoring trade benefits to Burma as he met with Aung San Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner who is now the nation's de facto leader.

Obama hailed a "remarkable" transformation in the country also known as Myanmar, which spent five decades under military rule. Suu Kyi's party swept historic elections last November, and the visit by the 71-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is a crowning occasion in the Obama administration's support for Burma's shift to democracy, which the administration views as a major foreign policy achievement.

The U.S. has eased broad economic sanctions since political reforms began five years ago, and Obama has visited the country twice. But the U.S. has retained more targeted restrictions on military-owned companies and officials and associates of the former ruling junta. U.S. companies and banks have remained leery of involvement in one of Asia's last untapped markets.

"The United States is now prepared to lift sanctions that we have imposed on Burma for quite some time," Obama said as he sat alongside Suu Kyi in the Oval Office. He said it was "the right thing to do" to ensure Burma benefits from its transition. Asked by a reporter when sanctions would be lifted, Obama said "soon."

Suu Kyi concurred that it was time to remove all the sanctions that had hurt the economy. She urged Americans to come to the country and "to make profits."

Congressional aides said Suu Kyi requested the removal of the national emergency with respect to Burma -- the executive order authorizing sanctions that has been renewed annually by U.S. presidents for two decades.

The Treasury Department said Obama's decision will be legally effective when he issues a new executive order to terminate the emergency. A U.S. official said 111 Burmese individuals and companies will be dropped from a Treasury blacklist, and restrictions will be lifted on new investment with the military and on the imports of rubies and jade. But penalties intended to block the drug trade and to bar military trade with North Korea would still apply.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce hailed the announcement as "historic." But human-rights groups say there are powerful reasons for retaining sanctions. Military abuses continue in ethnic minority regions. Rohingya Muslims remain displaced by sectarian violence and denied citizenship. The military and its associates still have huge stakes in the economy.

"Obama and Suu Kyi just took important tools out of their collective tool kit for dealing with the Burmese military, and threw them into the garbage," said John Sifton, deputy Washington director for Human Rights Watch.

Transparency advocate Global Witness says Burma's jade industry, based in a northern region plagued by civil conflict, is dominated by a military elite, U.S.-sanctioned drug lords and crony companies. It estimates the industry is worth nearly half the nation's economic output.

Suu Kyi addressed problems in western Rakhine state, where more than 100,000 Rohingyas remain stuck in camps, separated from Buddhists who are the majority in Burma. She said everyone entitled to citizenship in Burma should get it.

"We are sincere in trying to bring together the different communities," Suu Kyi said.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest pushed back on the notion that the U.S. was undercutting its leverage over Burma on human rights and constitutional reforms by lifting sanctions. He said greater U.S. engagement would promote its ability to promote change.

Information for this article was contributed by Kathleen Hennessey and Josh Lederman of The Associated Press. </s> WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Wednesday the U.S. is lifting economic sanctions and restoring trade benefits to former pariah state Myanmar as he met with Aung San Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner who is now the nation’s de facto leader.

Obama hailed a “remarkable” transformation in the country also known as Burma, which spent five decades under oppressive military rule. Suu Kyi’s party swept historic elections last November, and the visit by the 71-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, deeply respected in Washington, is a crowning occasion in the Obama administration’s support for Myanmar’s shift to democracy, which the administration views as a major foreign policy achievement.

The U.S. has eased broad economic sanctions since political reforms began five years ago and Obama has visited the country twice. But the U.S. has retained more targeted restrictions on military-owned companies and officials and associates of the former ruling junta. U.S. companies and banks have remained leery of involvement in one of Asia’s last untapped markets.

“The United States is now prepared to lift sanctions that we have imposed on Burma for quite some time,” Obama said as he sat alongside Suu Kyi in the Oval Office. He said it was “the right thing to do” to ensure Myanmar benefits from its transition. Asked by a reporter when sanctions would be lifted, Obama said “soon.”

Suu concurred it was time to remove all the sanctions that had hurt the economy. She urged Americans to come to the country and “to make profits.”

Congressional aides said that Suu Kyi requested the removal of the national emergency with respect to Myanmar — the executive order authorizing sanctions that has been renewed annually by U.S. presidents for two decades.

A U.S. official said that by terminating the emergency, 111 Myanmar individuals and companies will be dropped from a Treasury blacklist and restrictions will be lifted on new investment with military and on the imports of rubies and jade. But penalties intended to block the drug trade and to bar military trade with North Korea would still apply, as would a visa ban barring some former and current members of the military from traveling to the U.S.

The official and aides spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce hailed the announcement as “historic.” But human rights groups say there are powerful reasons for retaining sanctions. Military abuses continue in ethnic minority regions. Rohingya Muslims remain displaced by sectarian violence and denied citizenship. The military and its associates still have huge stakes in the economy.

“Obama and Suu Kyi just took important tools out of their collective tool kit for dealing with the Burmese military, and threw them into the garbage,” said John Sifton, deputy Washington director for Human Rights Watch.

Transparency watchdog Global Witness says Myanmar’s jade industry, based in a northern region plagued by civil conflict, is dominated by a military elite, U.S.-sanctioned drug lords and crony companies. It estimates the industry is worth nearly half of the nation’s economic output.

Suu Kyi addressed problems in western Rakhine state, where more than 100,000 Rohingyas remain stuck in camps, separated from Buddhists who are the majority in Myanmar. She said everyone entitled to citizenship in Myanmar should get it.

“We are sincere in trying to bring together the different communities,” Suu Kyi said.

The White House also notified Congress on Wednesday it would be reinstating in November trade benefits to Myanmar because of its progress on workers’ rights. The benefits were suspended in 1989, a year after the bloody crackdown on democracy protesters by the military.

Suu Kyi last visited Washington in 2012 when she was still opposition leader. On that occasion, she was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal, the legislature’s highest civilian honor, which she had been awarded in 2008 while under house arrest.

Now she is de facto leader of the country with the title of state counsellor although a junta-era constitution still enshrines the military’s role in politics and bars her from the presidency.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest pushed back on the notion the U.S. was undercutting its leverage over Myanmar on human rights and constitutional reforms by lifting sanctions. He said greater U.S. engagement would promote its ability to promote change.

Associated Press writers Kathleen Hennessey and Josh Lederman contributed to this report. </s> WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Friday lifted U.S. economic sanctions on the former pariah state of Myanmar.

Obama's move marks the culmination of years of rapprochement between the U.S. and Myanmar that Obama has worked to facilitate. The Southeast Asian nation, also known as Burma, has pursued political reforms over the last five years following decades of oppressive military rule.

Obama had announced plans to lift the sanctions last month, when Myanmar's new civilian leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, visited the Oval Office. Suu Kyi concurred it was time to remove all the sanctions that had hurt the economy and urged Americans to come to the country and "to make profits."

The U.S. has already eased broad economic sanctions on Myanmar, including prohibitions on investment and trade. But the U.S. had retained more targeted restrictions on military-owned companies and officials and associates of the former ruling junta. U.S. companies and banks have remained leery of involvement in one of Asia's last untapped markets. </s> AP Explains: US lifting of economic sanctions on Myanmar

U.S. economic trade sanctions on the once-isolated Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar are being eased to support the country's transition toward democracy and a market economy.

President Barack Obama announced the plan to lift remaining sanctions and restore trade benefits after meeting at the White House with Aung San Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner who is now Myanmar's foreign minister and the country's de facto leader.

Here is a look at some details and implications of the plan to lift most sanctions:

WHAT SANCTIONS ARE BEING LIFTED

The U.S. eased broad sanctions since Myanmar began political reforms five years ago, but kept in place targeted restrictions on military-owned companies and officials and associates of the former ruling junta. The White House also notified Congress it will reinstate trade benefits to Myanmar that the U.S. provides to least developed countries. They were suspended in 1989, a year after the bloody crackdown on democracy protesters by the military.

U.S. companies and banks have remained leery of involvement in one of Asia's last untapped markets. By ending most of the remaining sanctions Obama has cleared the way for them to invest and trade more freely with Myanmar's fast-growing economy, and for companies there to do business with the U.S. The restoration of Generalized System of Preferences trade privileges, such as lower import tariffs, will open the way for more exports from Myanmar of garments and textiles, core products of its nascent manufacturing sector.

For two decades, U.S. presidents have renewed an executive order declaring a "national emergency" with respect to Myanmar annually. Obama must issue a new executive order to end the emergency. U.S. officials said 111 Myanmar individuals and companies will be dropped from a Treasury blacklist and restrictions will be lifted on new investment with military and on imports of rubies and jade.

Penalties meant to block the drug trade and bar military trade with North Korea via Myanmar would still apply. A visa ban will still bar some former and current members of the military from traveling to the U.S.

Human rights groups favor keeping sanctions due to military abuses in ethnic minority regions. A top concern is for Rohingya Muslims, who remain displaced by sectarian violence and are denied citizenship. The military elite, U.S.-sanctioned drug lords and crony companies have huge stakes in the economy, especially in the jade trade, which is worth nearly half Myanmar's economic output.

For ordinary Burmese, better job opportunities thanks to increasing investment and trade with the U.S., and access to more, better quality imported products. For the U.S., wider access to a resource-rich economy of 54 million people whose annual growth is estimated to average over 8 percent for the rest of this decade. Removing barriers to trade and investment also will give U.S. business more leverage vis a vis China, which has been Myanmar's chief source of foreign investment for years. </s> President Barack Obama said on Friday he was lifting sanctions on Myanmar by terminating an emergency order that deemed the policies of the former military government a threat to U.S. national security.

"I have determined that the situation that gave rise to the national emergency ... has been significantly altered by Burma's (Myanmar's) substantial advances to promote democracy, including historic elections in November 2015," Obama said in a letter to congressional leaders announcing the decision.
The Obama administration plans to lift sanctions against Myanmar.