The US senate's finance committee voted to extend the trade sanctions for a further three years on Thursday, despite the attempts of the Burmese opposition leader to work on the removal of these sanctions.
The committee's chairman Max Baucaus said,
“By reauthorizing the import sanctions for three years, we maintain the pressure on the Burmese government to undertake reforms.”
However, he added, the ban on Burmese imports, could be annulled at any time, as a reward for continued democratic reforms.
The new bill updates the legislation that was first put in to place in 2003 and set to expire at the end of this month.
This extension of the import ban comes after the US eased some investment sanctions in Burma.
