Myanmar has made remarkable progress in its transition to democracy. Since a general election in 2010, the country has moved slowly, but firmly, toward civilian rule and the military junta has bowed to the will of the people. The military has respected democratic elections, freed political prisoners and handed over power to the National League of Democracy (NLD). While its power is institutionalized in the current constitution, it has demonstrated a readiness to find workable compromises with the NLD to address political problems on an ad hoc basis.
This progress has not gone unnoticed. The U.S. government has announced it is lifting some of the economic sanctions it has levied against Myanmar businesses and individuals. At the same time, however, Washington will maintain some restrictions on doing business with powerful people and their companies. This partial relief is appropriate: For all the progress, there is still work to be done.
The United States imposed tough sanctions on Myanmar for nearly two decades. In 1997, the U.S. prohibited new investment in the country by Americans or their businesses. In 2003, the Burma Freedom and Democracy Act banned all imports from Myanmar, cut off all financial services exports to the country, froze the assets of certain individuals and restricted the visas of some officials. Individuals and companies that were targeted were either tied to corruption, human rights violations, the drug trade or provided financial support to the government.