“US prepares to amend Myanmar trade sanctions”

The United States is preparing to amend sanctions on Myanmar after banks complained they can't finance trade that goes through the nation's main port terminal because it is run by a blacklisted business tycoon…

It would mean giving the green light to banks to process transactions related to trade that passes through a container port terminal in the main city of Yangon that is run by Steven Law, the son of a deceased heroin kingpin. He heads one of Myanmar's largest conglomerates, Asia World, that flourished under the former ruling junta…

"Loosening a restriction on business persons who were listed by the U.S. government because of their involvement in massive criminal enterprises and support for an abusive military junta isn't a well-tailored idea for improving Burma's economy," said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. "These sorts of business people are precisely the sorts of people who are responsible for the poor state of Burma's economy in the first place."...