Myanmar trade with US still less than one tenth of Sino-Myanmar trade, despite having increased as a result of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) that the US granted Myanmar

US-Myanmar bilateral trade has increased as a result of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) granted to Myanmar by the US, with Myanmar export increasing.

U Aung Soe, director general at Myanmar Trade Promotion Organisation under Ministry of Commerce, said bilateral trade volume has reached US$700 million. 

“In the past, due to US sanctions, goods could not be exported directly and indirect export costs more. New export items are under study now. If we expand the export items, trade volume will significantly grow,” the director general explained.

The primary export item to US is garment and the list also includes agricultural goods. In the future, small industrial products have a potential for export; although US wants to buy more aquaculture products, Myanmar side cannot export sufficiently to meet their demand, he went on.

In the aquaculture sector, attempts are needed from private sector as well as support from the government, he added.

According to the figures from the Ministry of Commerce, yearly bilateral trade volumes are $200 million in 2015-16, $690 million in 2016-17 and over $700 million in 2017-18.

Despite more exports, import amount exceeded that of export in those years.

However, it has seen more export in four months - from April to end of July, 2018 - with more than $200 million export among more than $320 million earned from trading sector.

Despite the increase, the volume is dwarfed by Sino-Myanmar trade. In the fiscal year 2016-17, for example, bilateral trade between the two countries already reached $10.8 billion. The volume hit $7.42 billion in the first eight months (April-November) of the fiscal year 2017-18, according to the information from the state-owned newspaper.

Loan is not that important for small and medium-businesspersons and they only need to acquire a market; loan can be acquired if a connection is made with the US market and a concrete agreement of trading can be shown, said U Htun Htun Naing, President of Myanmar Young Entrepreneur Association (MYEA).

“The main thing is market. We have yet to do many works to penetrate the market – our products are to meet standard, to have good quality and abide by their [US] FDA standards,” he said.

(The Myanmar Times: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/trade-us-less-one-tenth-sino-myanmar-trade.html )

​