Burma Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in burma, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
Select Country Guide
Trade Barriers
Last published date:

Since the February 1, 2021, coup, the U.S. government has designated numerous leaders of the State Administration Council (SAC), their adult family members, and other regime individuals who have overseen violence against civilians or aided the regime’s suppression of the people’s democratic will. Sanctions have also targeted regime-affiliated entities and key revenue streams through specific state-owned banks.  The goal of these sanctions is to curtail the regime’s access to foreign currency used to procure weapons. Sanction notifications from the United States can be found at https://www.whitehouse.gov/ and https://www.state.gov/burma-sanctions/

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) also imposed restrictions on the export of “critical items” to the regime military. American vendors must apply for a special permit to export certain restricted, sensitive commodities to the regime Ministries of Defense and Home Affairs, relevant military units, and security services. Visit https://www.bis.doc.gov/ for additional information. 

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai issued a statement in March 2021 suspending U.S. engagement with Burma under the 2013 Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) until the return of a democratically elected government. Visit https://www.ustr.gov/ for further details. 

In October 2022 the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) added Burma to the high-risk jurisdictions list due to the Central Bank’s failure to address strategic deficiencies in combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. FATF continually reviews Burma’s progress addressing its deficiencies and could implement additional conditions for bank transactions involving Burma. 

For more information, please check https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/countries/black-and-grey-lists.html.

×

Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

Privacy Program | Information Quality Guidelines | Accessibility