On Wednesday, August 7, 2013, President Obama issued an Executive Order that reinstates the ban on importation of rubies and jadeite and articles of jewelry containing them from Burma. An Executive Order implementing a broader ban on imports from Burma (the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act) expired on July 28, 2013.
While President Obama fully supported the expiration of the broader ban on imports from Burma, continuing concerns remain with respect to labor and human rights in specific sectors, including the mining of rubies and jadeite. Therefore, this Executive Order continues the ban originally imposed by the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta’s Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2008, which amended the BFDA. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Administration is maintaining restrictions on specific activities and actors that contribute to human rights abuses or undermine Burma’s democratic reform process.
Nothing in the order prohibits the importation of any jadeite or rubies mined or extracted from Burma or any articles of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies mined or extracted from Burma that were previously exported from the United States, including those that accompanied an individual outside the U.S. for personal use, if they are reimported to the U.S. by the same person, without having been advanced in value or improved in condition by any process or other means while outside the U.S.
The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, will issue any rules and regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of this Executive Order. More information is available on the website of the U.S. Department of Treasury.
If you have any additional questions, please contact Sara E. Yood, Assistant General Counsel, at or 212-997-2002.
