US Senate Committee votes to renew Burma sanctions

The US Senate Finance Committee voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to renew a ban on the import of products to the US from Burma for one more year, citing human rights abuses by the Burmese military junta.

As long as the Burmese junta continues to abuse and suppress its people, the United States needs to continue to join our trading partners in standing up for the Burmese people and supporting human rights, said Senator Max Baucus, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, soon after the committee voted 22-1 to renew import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003.

These sanctions, together with the sanctions imposed by several of our trading partners, put necessary pressure on the Burmese junta to stop its gross mistreatment of the Burmese people and abide by international human rights standards, Baucus said.

The committee statement said that since 1988, Burma has been ruled by an autocratic military regime known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). The State Department reported that the SPDC maintains its power by suppressing opposition groups, severely limiting freedom of speech and other personal freedoms of the Burmese people, committing gross human rights violations and interfering with the judiciary.

The US Senate Finance Committee has voted to renew the import ban every year since 2003.