US Considering Myanmar Sanctions Following Military Coup

The U.S. is reviewing its sanctions authorities to impose restrictions on Myanmar officials following a coup by the country’s military earlier this week, a State Department official said Feb. 2. The agency is considering sanctioning the country's military, including senior military officials, and is working with other countries in the region to impose similar restrictions, the official said. “We will take action against those responsible, including through a careful review of our current sanctions posture,” the official told reporters, adding that the sanctions could also target companies with ties to Myanmar’s military.

The announcement came one day after President Joe Biden called for an “immediate review” of U.S. sanctions against the country, including a review of past sanctions that have since been lifted. “The United States removed sanctions on [Myanmar] over the past decade based on progress toward democracy,” Biden said in a statement. “The reversal of that progress will necessitate an immediate review of our sanction laws and authorities, followed by appropriate action.” The Treasury Department ended its Myanmar sanctions regime in 2016.

It remains unclear what impact U.S. sanctions will have. Although the U.S.’s Myanmar sanctions regime was terminated, the State Department official said the U.S. currently imposes sanctions on four Myanmar military officials stemming from a 2018 designation. Those sanctions, combined with other U.S. restrictions against the country, have “meant that we have very little to no direct contact or work with the [Myanmar] military,” the official said. The U.S. plans to coordinate potential sanctions with Japan and India, the official said, who have closer ties to Myanmar. “We're having daily, ongoing conversations with them, and we certainly appreciate that some other countries have better contact with the [Myanmar] military than we do,” the official said. “So we're continuing those conversations.”

The official stressed that any sanctions will not impact humanitarian exports to Myanmar, saying that humanitarian assistance is “generally exempted” from trade restrictions. The official added that the agency has no timeline for imposing the sanctions.

U.S. lawmakers called for swift action against Myanmar’s military. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for “strict economic sanctions” against the country’s military leadership. He said he plans to work with Biden and other senators to “take immediate action.” Current Committee Chairman Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said the U.S. “is prepared to explore options to impose costs” on people threatening democracy in Myanmar.