US Tariffs Threaten Myanmar’s Quake Recovery, Say Garment Makers

[geovalin]

EPA

Myanmar’s garment industry has warned that new US tariffs could derail the country's fragile recovery from last month’s deadly earthquake, which has already left over 3,600 dead and thousands injured.

 

The 44% import tax, part of President Donald Trump’s latest trade policy shift, is set to come into effect this week—just as the Southeast Asian nation grapples with the aftermath of the 28 March quake that flattened homes, schools, and monasteries across its central regions.

 

The Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA), representing an industry that employs over half a million people—mainly young women—said the tariffs risk pushing struggling businesses over the edge.

 

“In the wake of such widespread devastation, these measures could not come at a worse time,” the MGMA said in a statement. “They will deepen the hardship faced by both businesses and communities.”

 

The garment sector is one of Myanmar’s few remaining economic lifelines, especially amid the broader turmoil since the military coup in 2021. The ongoing civil conflict has splintered the country, displaced over 3.5 million people, and driven half of its population into poverty.

 

Bilateral trade between the US and Myanmar totalled $734 million last year, but Myanmar’s exports have already dropped sharply. The MGMA has urged Washington to reconsider the tariff hike, asking for a “more lenient rate in light of the country’s multiple crises.”

 

The earthquake has only compounded the nation’s economic and humanitarian distress. According to junta officials, more than 160 people are still missing and over 5,000 are injured.

 

Further straining the country, Trump has also slashed humanitarian aid and paused a key refugee programme that once supported many fleeing Myanmar’s conflict zones. The World Food Programme recently confirmed it will cut food aid to one million people due to budget shortfalls worsened by these US funding cuts.

 

As Myanmar faces catastrophe on multiple fronts—natural, economic, and political—its garment manufacturers are warning that added financial pressure from abroad could prove devastating.

 

-2025-04-10