US enforces law barring Myanmar gems

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WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States said it began enforcing Monday a law seeking to tighten an import ban on gems from military-ruled Myanmar in a bid to deprive the junta of precious revenue.

The Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE Act was approved unanimously by Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush in July but the US Customs and Border Protection provided a grace period for the jewelry industry to adapt to the new rules.

The period expired on Sunday and the authorities on Monday began enforcing the law that aims to keep Myanmar's rubies and jade from entering US markets via third-party countries, officials said.

"After the grace period expired on Oct 26, 2008, CBP (Customs and Border Protection) will begin enforced compliance," the agency's spokesman, Jaime Castillo, told AFP.


Despite a longstanding ban on all Myanmar imports, gems from the impoverished country have entered the United States via third nations such as Thailand, China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore, rights groups say.

The new law closes a loophole that allowed into the United States gems cut or polished in third countries, officials said.

The gems trade is one of the most lucrative sources of profit for the military rulers, accused of blatant human rights abuses and stifling democratic opposition.

New York-based Human Rights Watch called on US consumers to refuse buying from jewelers unless they ensured their gems were not from Myanmar, previously known as Burma.

"For years many American jewelry retailers have bought Burmese rubies and jade that help finance the military junta's brutality," said Arvind Ganesan, the group's director of the business and human rights program.

"Now it is illegal to support that trade."

In addition to the import ban, the US Treasury Department has put in place targeted sanctions on a number of Myanmar companies involved in the gem business.