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BURMA DISMISSES EU MOVE TO CUT PRIV



Subject: BURMA DISMISSES EU MOVE TO CUT PRIVILEGES


              Myanmar dismisses EU move to cut privileges 



              YANGON -- Myanmar yesterday dismissed a decision by the European
              Union (EU) to stop giving Myanmar concessional trade
privileges, saying
              the move would not hurt its economy. 

              Myanmar official newspapers said: "They would think Myanmar people
              would become bewildered and wide-eyed and come kneeling down and
              be subservient. However, Myanmar felt nothing about it and did
not care
              less and even did not blink eyes." 

              The EU on March 24 stripped Myanmar of special trading
privileges in
              reaction to reports that it had used forced labour to help
boost exports. 

              The decision would deprive Myanmar of generalised system of
              preferences (GSP) benefits that it had received for exporting
agricultural
              and industrial products to the EU. 

              EU-Myanmar trade amounted to 41 million European currency units
              (S$66.5 million) a year, about a quarter of which enjoyed
lucrative GSP
              tariff breaks. 

              Stressing Myanmar's self-reliance, the commentary said the
country had
              undertaken by itself many road, bridge, dam, power station and
factory
              projects without foreign assistance. 

              "There was no one to lend a helping hand. They were built with own
              strength. There is no one to thank about," it said. 

              An analyst said the loss of the GSP status might affect foreign
              investment in Myanmar, especially in the export-oriented garment
              industry.