US to Impose Sanctions, Export Controls Against Myanmar

The U.S. will impose sanctions this week on foreign officials behind the military coup in Myanmar (see 2102020064), President Joe Biden told reporters Feb. 10. The measures will also include a set of “strong export controls” to impose “consequences” on the leaders of the coup, Biden said. “We’ll be ready to impose additional measures,” he said, “and we’ll continue to work with our international partners to urge other nations to join us in these efforts” (see 2102100012).

Biden said he signed an executive order authorizing sanctions against the military leaders, their business interests and their close family members. He added that the U.S. will deny them access to “$1 billion in Burmese government funds held” in the U.S. “The military must relinquish the power it seized and demonstrate respect for the will of the people of Burma as expressed in their Nov. 8 election.” Biden stressed that the U.S. will work to maintain the flow of humanitarian goods to Myanmar despite the forthcoming sanctions.