- Country or region
- Myanmar
- Trade topics
- Negotiations and agreements
- Trade policy
Myanmar is a member of WTO since 1995 and, as a least developed country, benefits from the EU's 'Everything But Arms' (EBA) scheme, which grants unilateral duty-free, quota-free access for all exports except arms and ammunition to the EU. In 2017, the EU entered into enhanced engagement under EBA with Myanmar, in view of assessing compliance with human rights and labour rights conventions.
A military coup in February 2021 has deeply influenced the modalities of the enhanced engagement process with Myanmar (which began in 2017), due to its broader impact on bilateral relations between the EU and the country.
Trade picture
- In 2025, the EU ranked as Myanmar's fourth-largest trading partner, accounting for 10.2% of the country’s total trade in goods. Myanmar was the EU’s 74th largest trading partner, accounting for 0.1% of the EU’s total trade in goods. Total goods trade between the EU and Myanmar amounted to around €4 billion in 2025. The EU imported goods worth around €3 billion from Myanmar, mostly textiles and clothing.
- Trade in services amounted to around €400 million in 2024, with both countries exporting around €200 million each.
- In 2024, the stock of EU foreign direct investment (FDI) in Myanmar amounted to around €200 million.
The EU and Myanmar
The EU and Myanmar launched negotiations for an investment protection agreement in 2014, which were put on hold in 2017 as the talks cannot take place in isolation from the broader context, in particular the EU's serious concerns regarding human rights violations taking place in Myanmar.
A sustainability impact assessment complemented the negotiations. This evaluated the potential economic, social, environmental, and human rights impact of the future agreement.
As a Least Developed Country (LDC), Myanmar benefits from the most favourable regime available under the EU's Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), namely the Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme. 90% of Myanmar’s exports eligible for tariff reductions under EBA entered the EU at preferential rates in 2023.
Myanmar benefits significantly from its preferential access to the EU market under the EBA. Its main exports to the EU are textiles, footwear, rice and precious stones.
Myanmar and ASEAN
Myanmar is one of the ten member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and one of its three LDCs.
Myanmar is part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Trading with Myanmar
- Importing into the EU from Myanmar
- EU trade defence measures on imports from Myanmar
- Exporting from the EU to Myanmar
- Trade relations are part of the EU's overall political and economic relations with Myanmar
- Myanmar is a member of the World Trade Organization