A post-Brexit United Kingdom will maintain its tariff-free “Everything but Arms” trade preferences with Myanmar. This is so announced despite the UN’s call for sanctions against military-affiliated businesses. Warren Pain, head of trade and investment for the British Embassy, told The Myanmar Times that the UK will continue to offer Myanmar zero tariffs on all goods save weaponry, whether or not the European Union decides to change its trade policy concerning Myanmar.

Pain emphasized that the stance does not indicate a change in the spirit of Britain’s trade policy. He, however, argued that the UK will continue to mirror the EU in its commitment to ethical trade. Britain simply does not find its current trade arrangement unethical, he said. Despite the recent report by the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, urging the international community to boycott a host of businesses that it says directly contribute to human rights abuses.

“It’s all about the responsibility and not a political position in terms of our relationship with the EU and not [about] wishing to diverge from current policies. We honestly think that this is the right ethical approach at this stage and time,” according to Pain.

He pointed out that Britain bought about USD 415 million worth of goods and services from Myanmar last year. The commodities include garments, fish and food products bearing the greatest portion. Some critics fear that foreign nations renegotiating established trade arrangements would present its own set of human rights issues. The garment industry alone employs more than 500,000 people in Myanmar, who are mostly women. Last year, historian Thant Myint U urged the European Union to maintain its trade preferences despite concerns about working conditions in factories. He argued that boycotting Myanmar’s exports would not resolve human rights issues, but only make things worse for Myanmar’s poor.