The U.S. shouldn't pursue sanctions against Nord Stream 2 and instead should focus on working with European countries to find an alternative to the Russian gas pipeline project, said Daniel Fried, the former senior director of the National Security Council for presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Although Fried said the project is a “dumb idea,” he also said he’s “not a big fan of trying to kill Nord Stream 2” with sanctions. “Let's find another way than a sanctions war with Germany,” Fried said during a March 30 event hosted by the German Marshall Fund of the U.S.

The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added the Myanmar Economic Holdings Public Company Ltd. to its sanctions list, subjecting it to an asset freeze, it said in a March 25 Financial Sanctions Notice. The major Myanmar conglomerate, owned by the Myanmar military, contributed to a series of fundraising events, which provided financial support to military personnel engaged in genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority in the Southeast Asian nation.

The Magnitsky Act is set to sunset in 2022, and the bipartisan authors of the original sanctions bill asked civil society representatives in the U.S. and Africa how the renewal should be shaped.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two more Myanmar entities, issued four new general licenses and published two new frequently asked questions to provide guidance on certain exempted transactions with Myanmar. The sanctions and guidance, issued March 25, came days after OFAC designated entities and officials associated with the country’s military-led coup last month (see 2103220036) and about three weeks after the Commerce Department increased export restrictions for shipments to Myanmar (see 2103040075).

The European Union instituted an asset freeze and travel ban on 11 Myanmar officials over their role in the military coup and subsequent police repression against peaceful protesters, the European Council announced in a March 22 news release. Ten of the 11 sanctioned individuals are in the top ranks of the Myanmar armed forces, including Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Soe Win. The lone nonmilitary individual is chairperson of the Union Election Commission for his role in scrapping the country's 2020 election results. The EU is pairing these sanctions with a pledge to withhold financial assistance going to the Myanmar government and to continue intensive diplomatic outreach.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two people and two entities connected to the Myanmar military and its “violent repression” on pro-democracy protests, OFAC said March 22. The sanctions target Than Hlaing, a leader of Myanmar’s police force; military official Aung Soe; the 33rd Light Infantry Division of the Burmese Army; and the 77th Light Infantry Division of the Burmese Army.

South Korea denounced the military takeover in Myanmar and issued countermeasures to punish the coup in the Southeast Asian nation, according to an unofficial translation of a March 12 news release. South Korea said it will stop new defense and security exchanges and cooperation with Myanmar; block exports of military materials to Myanmar and strictly examine export licenses for strategic industrial materials; and review development cooperation projects in the beleaguered nation. The release also said that South Korea will allow refugees to temporarily stay in its borders until the situation stabilizes.

Myanmar is waiving import and export licensing requirements for certain agricultural goods to help sustain the flow of food into the country, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released March 15. The licensing exemptions will apply to certain food staples -- including rice, grains, oils, cotton, sugar and onions -- from March 8 through April 9, USDA said. While the country’s February military coup has crippled Myanmar’s logistics sector and delayed trade (see 2103090005), the exemption may provide “some relief” for U.S. wheat and soybean exports, USDA said. The agency said Myanmar’s largest barrier to trade remains the lack of drivers to move the more than 10,000 containers stuck at ports.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the adult children of the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar military and their six companies, the agency said March 10. The designations target Aung Pyae Sone and Khin Thiri Thet Mon, who have “directly benefitted from their father’s position and malign influence.” OFAC also sanctioned the companies A&M Mahar Company Limited, Sky One Construction Company Limited, The Yangon Restaurant, The Yangon Gallery, Everfit Company Limited and Seventh Sense Company Limited.

The February military coup in Myanmar has “crippled” the country’s logistics sector and delayed trade operations, leading to “vast uncertainties” for U.S. agricultural exports, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report released March 8. The situation in Myanmar is “very fluid and is evolving rapidly,” the agency said. Almost all trade has faced disruptions since the coup and export and import documents are being “severely delayed.” The USDA said the Myanmar Port Authority is facing a lack of drivers and other logistics providers, and importers are seeing high fees because of the reduced staff at the ports to unload containers in a timely manner. The USDA said the country’s military created a “steering committee for trade facilitation” Feb. 20 to help trade flow better, allowing clearances for some containers this month. But companies using the military’s facilitation regime “risk being publicly shamed,” the USDA said, and U.S. products could face “reputational risks.” The agency said a variety of U.S. goods are either stuck at the port or on the water. “The situation remains fluid and uncertain, with concerns of both reputational risk and financial consequences of shipments during this period,” the report said.