Myanmar
As a least-developed country (LDC), Myanmar is a beneficiary of the EU's "Everything but Arms" (EBA) arrangement. The World Bank classifies Myanmar as a lower middle-income economy with a per-capita income of $1,233 in 2023. Total EU imports from Myanmar amounted to about €3.4 billion in 2023, and EBA preferential imports to €3.0 billion. The February 2021 military coup has deeply influenced the modalities of the enhanced engagement process (started in 2017) with Myanmar due to its broader impact on bilateral relations betwen the EU and the country.
What is the EBA?
The EBA arrangement covers all LDCs as classified by the United Nations. This arrangement enables duty-free and quota-free access for all products originating in LDCs except for arms and ammunition. Unlike beneficiaries of the Standard GSP and GSP+, LDCs are not excluded from the scheme if they benefit from other preferential arrangements or agreements with the EU.
At a glance: EU preferential imports from EBA beneficiary countries (2023, € million)
54.1M (2023)
Population
Parliamentary Republic
Government
1.0% (2023)
GDP Growth
27.1% (2023)
Inflation
$ 66.8B (2023)
GDP
Facts about Myanmar's economy
Strategic Location
Myanmar is an economy in South-East Asia, strategically well located in close proximity to major shipping routes in the Indian Ocean.
Export Products
Important export products of Myanmar are natural gas, articles of apparel and clothing, dried legumes, rice, and fish (2023).
Trade Partners
Myanmar's most important trading partners are neighbouring China and Thailand, followed by the EU and Singapore. China is both the most important source of imports (31% in 2023) and export destination (22%).
Economic Structure
Agriculture is the main pillar of Myanmar's economy in terms of employment, although it ranks third only with respect to its contribution to GDP (23% in 2023, behind services, 40%, and industry, 38%). The cultivation of rice takes up about half of all arable land. The industrial sector remains focused mainly on exploitation of gas and the production of cigarettes, textiles, steel, cement.
Gemstone Production
Myanmar is known as the “land of rubies” and is a major producer of not only rubies but also sapphire and jade. About 90% of the world’s rubies originate from Myanmar.
Trade with the EU
Total trade with the EU amounted to €3.2 billion in 2023. With a share of 11%, the EU is Myanmar's third most important trading partner, which is mainly driven by the importance of the EU market as an export destination. 19.5% of products from Myanmar go to the EU market (whereas the EU only supplies 2.4% of Myanmar's total imports).
Myanmar and the EU
Imports from Myanmar by product section (2023, € million)
Imports from Myanmar over time (€ million)
MYANMAR AND THE EU GSP
Economic Impact
98%
A large majority of Myanmar's exports to the EU were eligible for EBA preferences in 2023.
90%
Myanmar's preference utilisation rate in 2023.
90%
Share of zero-duty imports from Myanmar.
Preference utilisation and export diversification
EU imports from Myanmar (€ million)
Preference utilisation (%) vs. total eligible imports (in € million)
Most EU imports from Myanmar are eligible for EBA preferences, and EBA-eligible imports from Myanmar have shown a clearly positive trend since 2013. Also, since 2014 Myanmar has used EBA preferences to a high degree: preference utilisation rates were constantly above 90% of its eligible exports to the EU. In 2023, they stood at 90%, dropping from 97% a year earlier. All of the major export sections make good use of the preferential access to the EU market, with the slight exception of footwear, the second largest product group, with a preference utilisation rate of 78% in 2023.
The largest product sections under EBA (€ million, 2023)
Despite increasing exports and preference utilisation, the export sector remains highly concentrated on apparel and clothing exports. This sector accounts for 74% of overall EU imports from Myanmar and 80% of preferential imports suggesting limited export diversification. Nonetheless, in more recent years Myanmar substantially increased exports from a number of smaller sectors, including for example tobacco, leather and plastic articles where exports more than tripled since 2016.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The EU has started the "enhanced engagement" with Myanmar due to concerns with the country's overall adherence to human and labour rights as covered by the 15 core conventions included in the GSP regulation. The unilateral trade preferences under the GSP are conditional on the adherence to and the respect of fundamental human and labour rights as specified in the 15 fundamental conventions included in the GSP regulation. Myanmar has signed or ratified 8 of these fundamental conventions, most recently the ILO Minimum Age Convention in June 2020. The EU’s enhanced engagement predominantly focusses on the human rights related situation in the country. More particularly, the EU urges Myanmar to ensure human rights violators are being held accountable, to strengthen the cooperation with the UN, to improve the situation of internally displaced persons, to address hate speech and discrimination and enhance the freedom of expression. Moreover, related to the serious violence against the Rohingya in some parts of the country, the EU requires Myanmar to ensure full humanitarian access to these areas and to permit refugees a safe, voluntary and dignified return to their places of origin. Labour rights, particularly related to the elimination of forced and child labour, is another area of concern and is being addressed by the enhanced engagement both on the practical as well as the legislative level. Until now, Myanmar signals a general readiness to act on the areas of concern. Myanmar has collected evidence to determine individual responsibility related to human rights violations and has enhanced cooperation with the UN and signalled willingness to ratify additional conventions. Progress can also be noted in the area of labour rights as Myanmar ratified an additional ILO convention to tackle child labour more effectively. Nonetheless, challenges remain particularly with regards to the situation of internally displaced persons, humanitarian access and hate speech towards minorities.
Core international conventions on human rights and labour standards
Ratified
- Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948)
- International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (1976)
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1981)
- Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990)
- Convention concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour, No 29 (1930)
- Convention concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, No 87 (1948)
- Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, No 138 (1973)
- Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, No 182 (1999)
Not Ratified
- International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1969)
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1976)
- Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1987)
- Convention concerning the Application of the Principles of the Right to Organise and to Bargain Collectively, No 98 (1949)
- Convention concerning Equal Remuneration of Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value, No 100 (1951)
- Convention concerning the Abolition of Forced Labour, No 105 (1957)
- Convention concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation, No 111 (1958)
Additional Conventions
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (1973)
- Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987)
- Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (1989)
- Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)
- The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992)
- Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2000)
- Stockholm Convention on persistent Organic Pollutants (2001)
- Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1998)
- United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961)
- United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971)
- United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988)
- United Nations Convention against Corruption (2004)
EU-Myanmar Bilateral Development Cooperation
DG INTPA
Access all info about EU-Myanmar relations on the International Partnerships website.