Sawt Falasteen - Myanmar garment manufacturers warn US tariffs imperil quake recovery

President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs will see the Southeast Asian country hit with a 44 percent tax on US imports as it reels from last month's tremor which razed thousands of homes, schools and monasteries in its central belt.

Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said 160 people remained missing from the March 28 quake as fatalities hit 3,600 on Monday evening, with 5,017 people injured.

The Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA) said the tariffs due to take effect from Wednesday were causing "considerable concern" in an industry employing more than 500,000 people, mostly young women.

"Amid Myanmar's current challenging context, the new tariffs will increase the vulnerability of Myanmar businesses that have been struggling to stay afloat," the group said in a statement on Monday evening.

"The recent devastating earthquake... will only exacerbate the many challenges confronting Myanmar businesses and communities," it added.

According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, bilateral trade was worth an estimated $734 million last year, with Myanmar exports worth $656.5 million -- down 23.5 percent from a year earlier.

The earthquake has compounded the economic woes of a country gripped by a civil war since the military seized power in a 2021 coup.

With the junta at the helm, Myanmar has become internationally isolated and sanctioned while its territory has split into areas controlled by the military, anti-coup guerillas and ethnic armed factions.

Half the population of 51 million live in poverty while more than 3.5 million people are displaced.

The MGMA asked the United States to consider "a more lenient rate in light of the country's multiple crises".

Myanmar has already been hit hard by Trump's overhaul of Washington's foreign policy.

In one of his first acts back in office, he paused a refugee scheme through which Myanmar citizens fleeing the war-torn country ranked among the largest number of beneficiaries in recent years.

Trump's decision to eviscerate Washington's humanitarian budget -- spearheaded by his top donor and the world's richest man Elon Musk -- has also battered the nation.

The World Food Programme said it was forced to slash vital aid to one million people in Myanmar starting this month after the cuts contributed to "critical funding shortfalls".

I.Matar--SF-PST