ABSTRACT
The clothing industry, which is labour-intensive and export-oriented, has experienced
a decline in FDI inflows since the Americans imposed trade sanctions on Myanmar in
2003. Prior to the sanctions, half of the exports of garment industry products were to the
United States and over 80% of the United States imports from Myanmar were clothes
(Kudo 2005). Kudo (2005) further claimed that by 2004, about 25% of the garment facto-
ries involving a workforce of about 60,000 had closed. The anticipated lifting of sanctions
in 2014 did not materialize so far, and hence, FDI inflows into the clothing sector have not
increased significantly over the last few years. Nevertheless, the rising demand from other
countries, including Japan, has helped sustain exports from the industry.
