What’s at stake with Obama’s decision on whether to renew sanctions for Myanmar

On May 20, 2016, the national emergency that underpins the remaining U.S. sanctions on Myanmar will expire unless renewed by President Obama. The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) provides most of the legal authority for U.S. sanctions for Myanmar. The statute grants the President broad authority to regulate transactions subject to U.S. jurisdiction. However, the President must first trigger those authorities by declaring a national emergency with respect to “any unusual and extraordinary threat…to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.”

Three presidents have renewed the national emergency 17 times already, suggesting that the 18th would be a fairly routine step to maintain the existing measures. President Clinton declared such a threat for Myanmar in 1997 and determined that the government of Myanmar had committed large-scale repression of the democratic opposition in Myanmar and that the actions and policies of the government of Myanmar constituted an unusual and extraordinary threat. Presidents Bush and Obama subsequently expanded the scope of that national emergency based on the developing situation in Myanmar. (Courtesy of Asia Times)