YANGON, Myanmar
President Barack Obama's chief trade negotiator, Demetrios Marantis, had a message for Myanmar this week as he met with government officials and toured a downtown Yangon bazaar, just weeks after the government was criticized for its handling of deadly minority clashes in the heart of the country:
“I’ve seen your beautiful lacquer and the other amazing products that
you produce here,” Ambassador Marantis told an audience of local and
foreign journalists at the American Center, tucked away on a quiet
street away from the growing traffic of downtown Yangon. “And I know
Americans will buy them.”
The United States
is considering a move to drop tariffs on Myanmar-made imports, another
reflection of the surprisingly rapid progress of American engagement
with Myanmar. But it comes at an awkward time.
President Thein Sein’s reformist government is facing scrutiny over its handling of anti-Muslim tensions in this largely Buddhist country, which erupted into communal violence that left more than 40 dead in the central Myanmar town of Meiktila last month.
And just as Myanmar scored another huge economic victory this week, when the European Union announced an end to political and economic sanctions other than an arms embargo, international nonprofit Human Rights Watch threw allegations of “ethnic cleansing” at the government, saying it was complicit last year in reported massacres of the Rohingya, a displaced Muslim minority.
The
cognitive dissonance creates a difficult political needle for Western
officials to thread as they seek to turn the political promise of last
year, when President Obama made history by visiting
the former pariah state, into a more comprehensive relationship.
Marantis was also in town negotiating a new trade and investment
framework with the Myanmar government that would help eager American
corporations sell their goods in this country of 60 million as it
emerges into the world economy after decades of isolation.
Many human rights and governance observers say the quick ramp-up in Western engagement is too much of a reward, too soon.
But
the US ambassador here, Derek Mitchell, argues that helping Myanmar’s
economy through programs like trade preferences is key to prodding along
other reforms.
“In fact, the ability to engage economically and
provide opportunity, provide jobs, provide development is essential to
the success of reform – broader reform, political reform, social reform –
not just economics,” he says.
The US government has already
suspended and relaxed several restrictions on US companies doing
business with Myanmar – which the US government still refers to as Burma
(though Obama used both terms in November, and US officials seem to get
around the awkwardness by referring to “you” and “your country” in
speeches here.)
If the United States grants Myanmar trade
privileges under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), it would
slash duties on about 5,000 types of products from Myanmar, said
Marantis, who has been acting US Trade Representative since Ron Kirk stepped down earlier this year.
The
US government revoked Myanmar’s GSP privileges in 1989 over concerns
about the military regime’s forced labor and labor rights. And Marantis
expects tough questions from members of Congress. Labor rights were a
key point of discussion during his talks with high-level officials in
the capital city of Naypyidaw.
Myanmar-made products may amount to small change, however, compared with the profits US companies hope for in Myanmar.
Along
with new press freedoms and the release of more political prisoners,
economic reforms have been quickening – the government is considering
foreign bids for oil and gas exploration blocks and nationwide telecom
licenses – and American companies have been visiting Myanmar in
increasing numbers.
“Geopolitics are at play, as well. Your position at the crossroads of Asia,” Marantis said in his speech at the American Center, “makes you a very attractive partner for the United States.”
source: The Christian Science Monitor
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