Commerce Increases Restrictions on Burmese Military by Adding Four Entities to Entity List in Continued Response to the Recent Military Coup

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has added four entities to the Entity List in its latest action in response to the February 1, 2021 military coup in Burma: King Royal Technologies Co., Ltd., a telecommunications company that provides satellite communications services in support of the Burmese military, and Wanbao Mining and its two subsidiaries, Myanmar Wanbao Mining Copper, Ltd. and Myanmar Yang Tse Copper, Ltd., copper mining companies that have revenue-sharing agreements with Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL), an entity added to the Entity List in March 2021. MEHL provides revenue for Burma’s Ministry of Defence, an entity responsible for the military coup that was also added to the Entity List in March 2021. Additionally, three of the newly-added entities, Wanbao Mining and its two subsidiaries, have long been reportedly linked to labor rights violations and human rights abuses.

The Entity List is a tool utilized by BIS to restrict the export, re-export, and transfer (in-country) of items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to persons (individuals, organizations, companies) reasonably believed to be involved, or to pose a significant risk of becoming involved, in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. Additional license requirements apply to exports, re-exports, and transfers (in-country) of items subject to the EAR to listed entities, and the availability of most license exceptions is limited.

Today’s announcement builds upon recent BIS actions in February and March of this year that included new restrictions on exports of sensitive items to Burma’s Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, armed forces, and security services, and on certain items destined for defined military end uses and end users in Burma. Those actions also placed Burma in a more restrictive “country group” under the EAR, thereby limiting the availability of license exceptions.

“The United States continues to condemn the Burmese military’s refusal to recognize the democratically elected government of Burma, its unjust trial of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and actions against the National League of Democracy, and its violent repression of the people of Burma,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. “We continue encouraging like-minded allies and partners to join the United States in imposing costs on these four entities and clamping down on other sources of revenue that support the repressive and undemocratic activities of the Burmese military. The U.S. government will continue to promote accountability for the perpetrators of the coup and stand with the people of Burma and their democratic institutions.”