CNI Newsn

12 July 2025

The SAC chairman Senior General Min Aung Hlaing sent a negotiating letter to the US President Donald Trump, in which he told the president to impose 0 to 10 percent  trade tariff on imports from Myanmar. 

The US president Donald Trump sent a notice to the SAC chairman, in which he would impose 40 percent trade tariff on imports from Myanmar on July 7, 2025.

Then, the SAC chairman sent a reply to Trump in which he wanted to negotiate with the US about the trade tariff by sending a Myanmar high-level delegation to the US on July 9, 2025. 

While seeing the letter sent to the President Trump by the SAC chairman

“In order to achieve balanced trade between Myanmar and the United States, we would like to propose and negotiate a tariff adjustment of 10 to 20 percent on exports from Myanmar to the United States and 0 to 10 percent on imports from the United States to Myanmar. If necessary, we would like to quickly send a high-level delegation from Myanmar to meet and negotiate with relevant officials in the US,” said the SAC chairman.

US President Donald Trump is known for his unpredictable behavior, so he might accept the Myanmar's request, but it remains to be seen how much of a reduction will be made, Agriculture and Economic Advisor Ko Zaw Min Naing told CNI News.

While seeing the Myanmar garment industry

“It’s hard to predict, because the US President himself tend to do things very unexpected and we see news that the US Secretary of State prioritize his foreign policy a little bit more focus on Asia and Southeast Asia. It cannot be said that the US is unlikely to comply with this SAC request. We will have to wait and see how Donald Trump's foreign policy will play out in ASEAN and Southeast Asia. There is a possibility that Trump might respond something. He might be able to comply with the request. But it's difficult to estimate how much percentage he will reduce. Now, Donald Trump is playing his policy in Southeast Asia. As I said earlier, it also depends on whether he plays against China," he said.

Economic analysts have warned that if the SAC fails to ease the US's 40 percent trade tariff on Myanmar, the garment industry could be hurt and unemployment could rise.

The trade value between the US and Myanmar was US$ 701 million in the 2023-2024 fiscal year and over US$ 588.3 million in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, said Major General Zaw Min Tun, leader of the Information Team of the SAC.