Senate Gives Final Congressional OK to Ban on Myanmar Goods

The Senate gave final congressional approval Wednesday to a bill to close the U.S. market to imports from Myanmar, where democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi has been held by the country’s ruling junta since May 30.

The 94-1 vote sent the bill to President Bush, who will sign it, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said.

“This legislation sends a clear message to the Burmese regime that their continued detention of Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and their assaults on freedom cannot stand,” McClellan said in a written statement. U.S. officials refer to the country by its former name, Burma.

It was the second time in little more than a month that the Senate voted to ban imports from Myanmar. The latest bill, approved, 418-2, Tuesday in the House, limits the import ban to three years instead of continuing it indefinitely. That reflects U.S. business concerns about the difficulty of lifting sanctions.

The United States imported $356 million worth of textiles, clothing, footwear and other goods from Myanmar in 2002.

Suu Kyi’s party won national elections in 1990, but military leaders blocked her from taking power. She has spent more than half of the last 14 years under house arrest.