Trade: Bush extends sanctions on Myanmar

George W. Bush has signed a law imposing trade sanctions on Myanmar for an additional year. The law bars imports from the country, formerly known as Burma.

Analysts believe it is unlikely to have a major effect on the country because of the limited trade levels between the United States and Myanmar.

Myanmar has an unofficial border trade in timber, gems and seafood with China, Thailand and Malaysia. Although reliable figures concerning such trade are difficult to obtain, the Thai Farmers Bank estimates that Thai imports from Myanmar on border trade alone, was worth $389.4 million in the first six months of 2002.

However, as is always the case with sanctions, such measures are more likely to have an effect on the people they are allegedly designed to protect, rather than those they are supposed to punish.