An escalating legal battle has concluded with the US removing sanctions from Theint Win Htet, according to the US Department of the Treasury website and Al Jazeera. The move comes just days after Reuters reported that the administration of US President Donald Trump has opened talks with Myanmar's government, marking a shift from years of US policy that targeted generals involved in the 2021 coup against the democratically elected government.

According to Al Jazeera and Reuters, the Treasury Department removed Theint Win Htet from the sanctions list on Friday following a second complaint she filed in July. Her Washington, DC-based sanctions specialist lawyer, Erich Ferrari, filed a notice to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit on the same day. Previously, the sanctions had blocked her US credit cards, restricted foreign bank accounts, and forced her to abandon her master's degree at Columbia University in New York, leading her to reside in Thailand.

The group Justice For Myanmar condemned the Treasury Department's decision, stating that the Myanmar military continues to escalate attacks on civilians, according to Al Jazeera's reporting. The group criticized the continued delisting of individuals and family members connected to the funding of the junta.

Background

According to Al Jazeera, the US Treasury Department under former President Joe Biden targeted the Shwe Byain Phyu Group of Companies in January 2024. The firm was founded by Theint Win Htet's father, Thein Win Zaw, alongside his family. The department stated that the company supplied fuel to the military and owned at least twenty firms with close ties to military leadership. Theint Win Htet's initial lawsuit against the Biden administration was dismissed last year, while her mother was removed from the sanctions list last year.

The 2021 military coup in Myanmar initiated a civil war that has resulted in approximately 100,000 deaths and displaced more than 3.5 million people, with the Biden administration having previously imposed sanctions on military officers and linked companies, as reported by Al Jazeera. Washington also lifted sanctions in July of last year on several other Myanmar nationals and an accompanying company accused of aiding the military.

Why it matters

For international observers and readers following foreign policy shifts, the developments highlight the evolving nature of diplomatic and economic sanctions by major global powers. Changes in US policy regarding military-linked administrations and associated individuals demonstrate how legal challenges and shifting governmental engagements can alter long-standing international restrictions.