WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama formally announced the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Myanmar on Friday by terminating an emergency order that deemed the policies of the former military government a threat to U.S. national security.

U.S. President Barack Obama talks to the media as he meets with Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. September 14, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

“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 the U.S. House and Senate speakers.

A U.S. Treasury statement said that as a result of the termination of the emergency order the economic and financial sanctions administered by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control were no longer in effect.

The move followed a meeting between Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Obama in Washington last month, when she called for the lifting of economic sanctions against her country, and he said he was willing to do this.

Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won a sweeping victory in the November elections.

Obama’s letter pointed to the formation of a democratically elected, civilian-led government as a result of the election, the release of many political prisoners and improved human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression and freedom of association and peaceful assembly.

“While Burma faces significant challenges, including the consolidation of its democracy, the United States can, and intends to, use other means to support the government and people of Burma in their efforts to address these challenges,” Obama’s letter said.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and democracy icon, helped persuade the West to impose sanctions on Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, during her years as a jailed opposition leader. She is now trying to strike a balance between showing her people the economic rewards of a democratic transition while keeping pressure on the country’s generals for further reforms.

Some members of the U.S. Congress have expressed concerns about the extent and durability of change in Myanmar and introduced legislation seeking to give lawmakers some influence on the process of easing sanctions.

Rights groups condemned last month’s announcement, saying it forfeited leverage on Myanmar’s military.

Officials of the U.S. administration have said the removal of sanctions would not apply to military-to-military assistance, given the extent of the military’s involvement in politics and rights abuses.

Suu Kyi herself has been criticized for doing too little to address the plight of Myanmar’s stateless Rohingya Muslim minority.

The State Department said last month that several restrictions would remain in place, including barring visas for military leaders.</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.</s>WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Friday lifted U.S. economic sanctions on the former pariah state of Myanmar, the culmination of years of rapprochement 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 prohibitions on investment and trade but 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.

Friday’s executive order lifts those restrictions. It removes the national emergency with respect to Myanmar – the executive order authorizing sanctions that has been renewed annually by U.S. presidents for two decades. It also lifts a ban on the importation of jadeite and rubies from Myanmar, and removes banking restrictions.

“I have determined that the situation that gave rise to the national emergency with respect to Burma has been significantly altered by Burma’s substantial advances to promote democracy, including historic elections in November 2015,” Obama wrote in a letter to the leaders of Congress. He said the U.S. intends to use other means to support Myanmar in the “significant challenges” it still faces.

Some Myanmar nationals remain on the Treasury Department’s list of Specially Designated Nationals under other sanctions authorities, such as those intended to block the drug trade, a Treasury statement said. This bars them from any business dealings with the U.S. They include alleged drugs kingpin Wei Hsueh Kang and other figures from the United Wa State Army, one of Myanmar’s biggest ethnic armed groups.

Among those taken off are the ex-junta chief, Than Shwe, and the founder of one of the nation’s largest conglomerates, Stephen Law, whose late father was once described by Treasury as one of the world’s key heroin traffickers. Also taken off were military officials added to the blacklist since 2013 for alleged arms trading with North Korea, such as Lt. Gen. Thein Htay, chief of the Directorate of Defense Industries.

Treasury said that while all those designated under the Myanmar sanctions authority have been delisted, it retains the authority to designate any individuals or entities under other sanctions programs, including on North Korea and counter-narcotics, if it determines they meet the criteria.

Human rights groups have argued that lifting sanctions is premature as the U.S. will lose leverage over Myanmar’s powerful military. Despite the election victory by Suu Kyi party last year, the military still wields major political and economic influence.

Sen. Ben Cardin, top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, voiced support for the sanctions action but concern over the plight of Rohingya Muslims, ethnic reconciliation and reform of a junta-era constitution that guarantees the military a quarter of parliamentary seats.

“Even as we lift these sanctions we must maintain a focus on on-going concerns regarding the role of the military in Burma’s economy and politics,” Cardin said in a statement, noting that Suu Kyi had raised the issue when she met with senators during her Washington visit last month.

Obama’s outreach to Myanmar has reflected his willingness to engage with American adversaries – others being Cuba and Iran. The administration has also sought to promote U.S. strategic interests in Asia. During its years of international isolation, Myanmar was heavily reliant on its northern neighbor China, which remains a key source of trade and investment.

Associated Press writer Josh Lederman contributed to this report.</s>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>WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama issued an executive order Friday lifting long-standing U.S. trade sanctions against Myanmar, saying in a formal notification that the regime's pattern of using repressive tactics "has been significantly altered by Myanmar's substantial advances to promote democracy" over the past year.

The move to give Myanmar the kind of preferential tariffs that other poorer nations enjoy, which Obama first announced last month, is controversial because some human rights groups continue to warn that the country's transition from authoritarian rule is not complete. While the opposition party led by State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi won in national elections last year, the military retains 25 percent of the seats in parliament and controls several key ministries under a constitution that bars Suu Kyi from becoming president.

Activists have also protested the Burmese government's treatment of its Rohingya. Members of the Muslim minority group are not recognized as Burmese citizens and have fled in large numbers to refugee camps elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Still, in the order, Obama cited the 2015 election results and other developments, including "the release of many political prisoners; and greater enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms," to justify the change in Myanmar's trade status.

Engagement with Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been one of the hallmarks of the administration's foreign policy, an approach that Obama and his aides say has borne fruit over years of negotiation. Suu Kyi, who visited with Obama in the Oval Office last month, now serves as the nation's de facto leader even though she cannot serve as president.</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.
The Obama administration lifts U.S. sanctions on Myanmar by terminating an emergency order that deemed the policies of the former military government a threat to U.S. national security.