US lawmakers ease pressure on Chevron in Myanmar

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US lawmakers have dropped plans to impose sanctions that would have pressured US energy giant Chevron to pull out from a gas project in military-ruled Myanmar, congressional aides said on Tuesday.

Sanctions that would end tax write-offs enjoyed by Chevron were part of a package of new US measures passed by the House of Representatives last year aimed at punishing the military junta for its deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

But in a compromise this week, legislators from the House of Representatives and Senate removed the provision after Chevron argued that other firms from nations such as China and India could easily take over its stake if divested, congressional aides said.

"One of the things it does is it removes the part about tax incentives that affect US companies who might do business in Burma (Myanmar)," a congressional aide told AFP in describing the ...