Teak Imports From Myanmar Continue Despite Sanctions, Activist Report Says
Teak imports from Myanmar continue to flow into the U.S. despite sanctions on the state-owned Myanmar Timber Enterprise, Justice for Myanmar said in a recent report. The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned MTE in April, making transactions with the…
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company illegal. "[I]mporters in the US are purchasing timber from private companies that are acting as brokers in Myanmar," the activist group said. Such importers are effectively "evading sanctions by not buying directly from MTE." OFAC didn't comment on the report. A CBP spokesperson said the agency works with OFAC "to address sanctions related to Myanmar." CBP "conducts intelligence, research and analysis" to prevent such imports," he said. The agency's enforcement efforts are coordinated with "U.S. government trade policy and law enforcement agencies." CBP also "implements, with significant input from the trade community, distribution chain management programs to better identify and facilitate known legitimate imports, leaving more resources to focus on higher risk shipments."