The United States government announced that it will ease a set of long standing trade restrictions on Sri Lanka and review all further applications on a “case-by-case basis”.
The US Department of State's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) stated that “effectively immediately” it will “review applications for licenses to export or temporarily import defense articles and defense services to or from Sri Lanka”.
Previous restrictions on Sri Lanka blocked the use of US assistance for defence exports, apart from services related to demining and disaster relief.
The announcement comes shortly after the signing of the US-Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, where US Ambassador Samantha Powers controversially praised the Sri Lankan government as a “global champion of human rights”.
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