Obama pledges to lift economic sanctions against Myanmar

During a visit Wednesday with Myanmar's leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President Obama announced he would "soon" be lifting economic sanctions imposed against the country decades ago. "Recognizing the progress toward democratic transition that Myanmar has achieved, including through the election of a civilian-led government, and in an effort to support inclusive economic growth, the United States will terminate the National Emergency with respect to Myanmar and will revoke the Executive Order-based framework of the Burma sanctions program," the White House said in a statement.

Sanctions were originally imposed because of human rights violations committed under Myanmar's military rule, and were intended to "isolate Myanmar's former military junta," NPR reported. With sanctions lifted, Myanmar will once again be exempted from high import taxes, a benefit offered to poorer countries. However, BBC reported, sanctions will remain in place against a "'blacklist' of at least 100 companies and individuals with links to the former military junta, as well as trade in jade and rubies."

Obama didn't offer an exact timeframe for when sanctions will be lifted, but many critics fear the move is coming too soon. Myanmar's military still holds "over 25 percent of parliamentary seats, its ability to dissolve the parliament in times of national emergency, and its control over the nation's security, defense, and border ministries," The New York Times reported. "It sends a terrible message to say you're not going to reward a government unless they do something, and then reward them anyway," John Sifton, the deputy Washington director of Human Rights Watch, told the Times.

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Obama, however, did note that Myanmar's progress "is not complete." Aung San Suu Kyi agreed that more needed to be done to reduce the military's power within the government.