Compliance of the U.S. Sanctions of Gem Enterprises from Myanmar under the Obligations of the WTO Law

Abstract

This article presents certain findings from the law and economics research paper, “Compliance of the U.S. Sanctions of Gem Enterprises from Myanmar under the Obligations of the WTO Law: Its Implications on Thai Gems and Jewelry Exports to the U.S.”, conducted by Associate Professor Dr. Jaruprapa Rakpong and Assistant Professor Dr. Nessara Sukpanitch. The research obtained the research funding from the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University.

By evaluating the U.S.’s commitments under the World Trade Organization, this article investigates the U.S. import ban on Myanmar gem businesses, which in turn has negative impacts on Thailand’s gem and jewelry exports.

It has been discovered that although the current U.S. sanction potentially breaches the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)’s Most-favored Nation Principle as well as being a quantitative restriction under Article XI of the GATT,  the U.S. can invoke the national security exception to continue enacting such a ban. As a result, the current sanction is expected to remain in place and continue to have significant negative impacts on Thai gem and jewelry exports in the long run.

Consequently, the Thai government should seek an opportunity to negotiate with the U.S. government by highlighting that the sanction creates unnecessary obstacles to international trade to products coming from Thailand, rather than having a direct negative impact on the current Myanmar military government as intended.  At the same time, the Thai government and producers should seek to develop other long-term solutions to solve the export problems.