How Trump's letter warning tariffs became Myanmar junta's diplomatic victory

Indian Express

13-07-2025

For most world leaders, receiving a tariff warning from US President Donald Trump is a diplomatic headache. For Myanmar's military junta, it's a public relations jackpot.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the junta that seized power in Myanmar in a 2021 coup, is claiming a new tariff notice from the US as a symbolic victory and even a form of international recognition. In a move that stunned many in the diplomatic community, Myanmar's state media has framed Trump's letter announcing a 40 per cent tariff on Myanmar's exports as an 'encouraging invitation' to engage with the US economy.
The general, widely accused of overseeing war crimes and responsible for dismantling Myanmar's fragile democracy, said he received the letter from Trump with 'sincere appreciation.' He called it an 'honor' to be contacted directly by the US president, according to Global New Light of Myanmar, a state-run outlet.
Since the 2021 coup, the US and most Western nations have refused to recognise Myanmar's junta as the country's legitimate government. Washington downgraded diplomatic ties and imposed a raft of sanctions. But Min Aung Hlaing has seized on Trump's tariff communique as a potential opening and is pushing for high-level talks with the US.
In his official response, the general even offered to send a negotiation team 'as quickly as possible' to the United States to discuss trade. He also asked Washington to lift or ease sanctions, which he claimed were hindering the 'shared interests and prosperity' of both countries, a report by CNN stated.
Though there's no indication the US has changed its policy or delivered the letter as part of official engagement, the junta is portraying the tariff as a backchannel signal that it still matters on the global stage.
The junta's framing of the tariff letter as a diplomatic outreach, rather than economic punishment, appears calculated. By interpreting a punitive trade measure as recognition, the military leadership is trying to shift international and domestic narratives.
Min Aung Hlaing used the opportunity not just to praise Trump — calling him a 'true patriot' and commending his 'strong leadership' — but also to draw parallels between Trump's baseless claims of electoral fraud and the junta's own justification for its 2021 coup.
'Similar to the challenges the President encountered during the 2020 election of the United States, Myanmar also experienced major electoral fraud and significant irregularities,' Min Aung Hlaing said in the statement, as quoted by CNN. The election he referred to, however, was deemed free and fair by international observers — and had delivered a landslide victory to Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).
Within weeks, the military voided the results and seized control, plunging Myanmar into a civil war now in its fifth year.
The junta's appeal to Trump's political narrative isn't coincidental. The general also thanked the US President for 'regulating broadcasting agencies and funds' — a likely reference to Trump's cuts to US-funded media like Radio Free Asia and Voice of America, which have remained critical sources of independent reporting in Myanmar amid a harsh crackdown on the press.
While Trump's administration hasn't commented on the junta's framing of the letter, and the US embassy has not confirmed any formal contact, Myanmar's rulers are using the moment to present themselves as back in the conversation — and even aligned with Trump-era ideologies.
The timing is significant. Settler violence, displacement campaigns, and alleged war crimes have left Myanmar internationally isolated. The junta is eager for any opportunity to show it still has channels of influence, especially with a major power like the United States. Meanwhile, Aung San Suu Kyi remains in prison, sentenced in secretive trials, critics call politically motivated, and the civil war grinds on with no end in sight.