"Sanctions were the cause of Burma's economic problems."
Not if you look closely. Sanctions did affect Burma's economy, but they were not the biggest problem faced by the private sector. Talk to businesspeople in Yangon and Mandalay and they'll tell you that the biggest challenges they've dealt with over the years were electricity supply, political instability, and corruption, all factors well within the government's control. Sanctions were the next biggest obstacle because of the additional costs imposed by the U.S. financial services ban and the loss of the large American export market. Many other factors, including poor infrastructure, arbitrary decision-making, and the lack of an impartial judiciary also made business in Burma costly. For most companies, sanctions were a modest part of the challenges of doing business.
Sanctions were originally conceived as a response to human rights problems in Burma, but now they've outlived their usefulness. The biggest and best-connected companies, which sanctions are supposed to target, have the financial resources and international connections to circumvent them. Those without these resources -- the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are so vital for Burma's development -- bear the brunt of sanctions. Sanctions weren't the major cause of Burma's economic problems, but keeping them will not help address human rights concerns and will hinder reforms and development.
SUBJECTS:
