Myanmar–United States relations

The first contact between the Konbaung Dynasty of Burma and the United States were the letters sent from King Mindon in 1856–57 to Presidents Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan. King Mindon hoped for a bilateral treaty that would help provide some protection against the British Empire.[8]

Later on March 20, 1879, former US President Ulysses Grant visited Rangoon for a short visit on a round-the-world tour following his retirement from the presidency. At the time of his visit, lower Burma, including Rangoon, had been lost to the British in the Second Anglo-Burmese War. Grant was impressed with Rangoon and predicted it would become one of the biggest and most important cities in Asia.[9]

The US Embassy Rangoon was established 19 September 1947 in anticipation of Burma’s independence with Earl L. Packer as the first Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. The first ambassador Jerome Klahr Huddle was appointed on 17 October later that year.[10]

The 8888 Uprising in 1988 saw mass protests in Burma against the totalitarian rule of General Ne Win. American House Representative Stephen Solarz arrived in Burma in September to encourage reform echoing the policy of the U.S government towards Burma.[11][12] Protestors demonstrated outside the United States embassy in Yangon hoping for international attention and American intervention.[13]

Eventually, the protests led to a bloody military coup by the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). SLORC imposed martial law and cracked down on protests, including killing 500 protestors outside the United States embassy.[14]

Many believed that the new military regime would collapse if the countries refused to recognize the legitimacy of the coup.[15] The United States imposed the most restrictive sanctions of the many countries that cut aid and placed sanctions.[16]

In 1989, the military junta changed the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar alongside many other English names like that of Yangon/Rangoon. The United States remains one of a few countries to still do not recognize the 1989 changes arguing that the name change was made without the consent of the people by an illegitimate government.[17]

The United States downgraded its level of representation in Myanmar from Ambassador to Chargé d'Affaires after the government’s crackdown on the democratic opposition in 1988 and its failure to honour the results of the 1990 parliamentary election.[18]

The Massachusetts state government attempted to sanction Myanmar directly in 1996 but those efforts proved unconstitutional.[19] In addition, since May 1997, the U.S. Government has prohibited new investment by U.S. persons or entities. A number of U.S. companies exited the Myanmar market even prior to the imposition of sanctions due to a worsening business climate and mounting criticism from human rights groups, consumers, and shareholders. The United States has also imposed countermeasures on Myanmar due to its inadequate measures to eliminate money laundering.

Later, the United States federal government imposed broad sanctions against Myanmar under several different legislative and policy vehicles. The Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act (BFDA), passed by Congress and signed by the President in 2003, included a ban on all imports from Myanmar, a ban on the export of financial services to Myanmar, a freeze on the assets of certain Burmese financial institutions, and extended visa restrictions on Burmese officials. The BFDA was accompanied by Executive Order 13310 banning the import of products and export of financial services to Myanmar signed in the aftermath of the Depayin massacre.[20] Congress has renewed the BFDA annually until the 2010s.[21]

Embassy of Myanmar in Washington, D.C.

The Saffron Revolution in 2007 and 2008 saw another period of mass social unrest in Myanmar. In response, the U.S. Department of Treasury designated 25 senior Burmese government officials as subject to an asset block under Executive Order 13310 on 27 September 2007. Later on October 19, President George W. Bush announced a new Executive Order (E.O. 13448) expanding the authority to block assets to individuals who are responsible for human rights abuses and public corruption, as well as those who provide material and financial support to the regime. On 30 April 2008, Executive Order 13464 further expanded the authority to freeze assets, which was used to seize 110 individual entities’ assets. These restrictions would remain in place until 2016.[20][22]

As Cyclone Nargis ravaged the country in 2008 and the military government pushed forward with their constitutional referendum, the US House of Representatives voted unanimously in favour of House Resolution 4286 awarding a congressional gold medal to Aung San Suu Kyi for her commitment to peace, nonviolence, human rights and democracy.[20]

Due to its particularly severe violations of religious freedom, the United States has designated Myanmar a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act. Myanmar is also designated a Tier 3 Country in the Trafficking in Persons Report for its use of forced labour, and is subject to additional sanctions as a result. The political relationship between the United States and Myanmar worsened after the 1988 military coup and violent suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations. Subsequent repression, including the brutal crackdown on peaceful protestors in September 2007, further strained the relationship.

Thein Sein meets U.S. President Barack Obama in Yangon, November 19, 2012

In the wake of reforms pursued by the military under the new 2008 Constitution of Myanmar. US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, visited Myanmar in November–December 2011. In this visit, the first by a Secretary of State since 1955, Clinton met with the President of Myanmar, Thein Sein, in the capital Naypyidaw, and later met with democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon. The US announced a relaxation of curbs on aid and raised the possibility of an exchange of ambassadors.[3] On January 13, 2012, the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the US will exchange ambassadors with Myanmar, after a landmark Burmese political prisoner amnesty.[23]

On Thursday, May 17, 2012, President Barack Obama nominated Derek Mitchell to the U.S. Senate for confirmation to serve as Ambassador to Myanmar.[24][25] After being confirmed by the U.S. Senate in late June, Derek Mitchell, the first U.S ambassador to Myanmar in 22 years formally assumed his job on July 11, 2012 by presenting his credentials to President Thein Sein at the presidential mansion in the capital Naypyidaw.[26][27]

In July 2012 the United States formally eased sanctions on Myanmar.[28] Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced plans in the spring of 2012 for a “targeted easing” of sanctions to allow American dollars to enter the country.[28] President Obama ordered the U.S. Treasury Department to issue two licenses, one giving special permission for investment in Myanmar and the other allowing financial services.[26] Although plans were announced in May, the change awaited detailed reporting requirements on U.S. companies doing business in Myanmar and the creation of mechanisms to prevent U.S. economic ties to the military, individuals and companies involved in human rights abuses.[29]

President Obama also issued an executive order expanding existing sanctions against individuals to include those who threaten Myanmar’s political restructuring process.[29] This meant that The United States would not allow investment in military entities owned by Myanmar’s armed forces or its Ministry of Defense.[30] The United States continued to block businesses or individuals from transacting with any “specially designated nationals” or businesses that they control — allowing Washington to stop money from flowing to groups disrupting the reform process or blocking peace. Businesses with more than $500,000 in investment in the country were required to file an annual report with the State Department, with details on workers’ rights, land acquisitions and any payments of more than $10,000 to government entities and state-owned enterprises.[28]

In May 2013, Thein Sein became the first Myanmar president to visit the US White House in 47 years and President Barack Obama praised the former general for political and economic reforms, and the cessation of tensions between Myanmar and the US. Political activists objected to the visit due to concerns over human rights abuses in Myanmar but Obama assured Thein Sein that Myanmar will receive the support from the US. Prior to President Thein Sein, the last Myanmar leader to visit the White House was Ne Win in September 1966. The two leaders discussed Thein Sein’s intention to release more political prisoners, the institutionalisation of political reform and rule of law, and ending ethnic conflict in Myanmar—the two governments agreed to sign a bilateral trade and investment framework agreement on 21 May 2013.[31]

American companies and people were allowed to invest in the state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise leading to criticism by human rights groups.[26][28][32] New York-based Human Rights Watch said that the reporting requirements would not adequately prevent new investments from fueling abuses and undermining reform. HRW’s director Arvind Ganesan said that it looked as if the U.S. had caved to industry pressure undercutting Aung San Suu Kyi and others promoting accountability in the reformed military government.[26]

Pelosi, Crowley and Aung San Suu Kyi in US Capitol

After the NLD’s historic election win in 2015 with a transfer of power, the new government led by Aung San Suu Kyi enjoyed friendlier relations with the U.S. In September 2016, Aung San Suu Kyi as State Counsellor of Myanmar visited United States and which has set a mile stone for the relationship between United States and Myanmar issuing a joint statement in which President Obama is lifting the Executive Order-based framework of the Myanmar sanctions while restoring Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) trade benefits to Myanmar.[33]

U.S. Spokesperson Nauert Participates in Press Conference in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

In October 2017, in response to the 600,000 refugees displaced from their homes during the ongoing Rohingya crisis, the United States withdrew military aid to some Myanmar units responsible for the displacement. The State Department issued a statement, saying current and former senior leadership of the Burmese military would no longer be considered for the JADE Act travel waivers, that no units and officers involved in the Rohingya persecution would be eligible for U.S assistance programs, and that senior security forces of Myanmar were no longer invited to attend U.S-sponsored events.[34] The State Department reiterated support for Myanmar’s democratization process as well as relief for the persecuted Rohingya.[34]

The United States did not immediately re-impose sanctions on Myanmar as a response to this, which was met with criticism by Congressional lawmakers and human rights activists.[35] In the October 2017 Congressional hearing, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Patrick Murphy explained that besides running the risk of inefficacy, imposing sanctions might weaken the United States’ influence on Myanmar.[4]

In December 2017, the United States imposed a blacklist on Maung Maung Soe, chief of the Myanmar army’s Western Command, which was responsible for the violence towards the Rohingya. Following an Executive Order by President Trump enabling the Treasury Department, the Office of Foreign Assets Control froze his United States assets and bars Americans from engaging in business transactions with him.[36]

In August 2018, the United States Treasury Department enacted these economic sanctions on four Myanmar military and police commanders in a statement, referring to the violence against the Rohingya as “ethnic cleansing.” Those targeted by this sanction are: Aung Kyaw Zaw, Khin Maung Soe, Khin Hlaing, Thura San Lwin, as well as the Burmese Army’s 33rd Light Infantry Division, and the 99th Light Infantry Division.[6]

In September 2018, the State Department released a report titled Documentation of Atrocities in Northern Rakhine State, detailing the violence suffered by the Rohingya refugees, refraining from use of the term “ethnic cleansing.”[37] In April 2018, the State Department issued a statement, announcing an additional $50 million and a total of $255 million since FY 2017 to be spent on humanitarian aid for Rohingya refugees. The statement also noted this contribution was impacted by the support of Congressional lawmakers.[38]

By the mid 2019, the United States has imposed sanctions on senior officials of the Myanmar military that prevents those officials from crossing US border. The military strongly condemned those measures. At the end of 2019, when the West African Nation Gambia filed a case at the International Court of Justice against Myanmar, accusing it of genocide, the US immediately tightened up sanctions against Myanmar Army chief, Min Aung Hlaing, where the any assets of his in the US was be frozen.

On January 31, 2020, the Trump Administration restricted immigration from 6 countries and Myanmar was among them.[39]

• Chargé d'Affaires – Deb Lynn