Staff Correspondent, Dhaka:
The United States has lifted sanctions on Theint Win Htet, daughter of a Myanmar businessman. The accused of supporting the country’s military, following her legal challenge to the designation. The decision comes amid signs of a possible shift in Washington’s approach to Myanmar’s military-installed government.
According to the US Treasury Department’s website, Theint Win Htet was removed from the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List on Friday. A State Department spokesperson said the decision reflected the administration’s assessment that the designation no longer effectively supported US policy objectives concerning Myanmar, also known as Burma.
The spokesperson said Washington was using various tools to advance priorities, including combating scam centers, improving the domestic operating environment for US businesses, and encouraging a peace process to address continuing violence and the humanitarian crisis.
The move follows reports that the Trump administration has opened talks with Myanmar’s military-installed government, marking a potential departure from the policy of isolating the generals who seized power in the 2021 coup.
The administration of former President Joe Biden imposed sanctions on senior military officers and companies accused of supporting the junta after the coup. The ensuing conflict has killed an estimated 100,000 people and displaced more than 3.5 million, according to the figures cited in the report.
Theint Win Htet filed a complaint in July, arguing that she had no active involvement in her father’s business affairs. She said the restrictions had disrupted her education in the United States, blocked her US credit cards, and limited access to foreign bank accounts. She had completed an undergraduate degree at New York University and enrolled in a master’s program at Columbia University.
Her lawyer subsequently filed a notice voluntarily dismissing the lawsuit following the delisting. Her mother had also been removed from the sanctions list last year.
However, the decision has drawn criticism from campaign group Justice For Myanmar, which accused Washington of easing pressure on individuals linked to the military while attacks on civilians continue.
The delisting highlights the administration’s attempt to balance sanctions enforcement with diplomatic engagement and commercial priorities. Whether this approach can advance peace and accountability without weakening pressure on the military remains an important question for US policy in Myanmar.
