The United States has removed the Southeast Asia nations of Laos and Cambodia from a trade blacklist, opening the door for US loans to companies doing business in the two countries.
US President Barack Obama has said that Laos and Cambodia had each “ceased to be a Marxist-Leninist country,” a designation that prevented financial support by the United States Export-Import bank (US Ex-Im) for businesses operating in the two nations.
"Given the commitment of Cambodia and Laos to open markets, the president has determined that this designation is no longer applicable," an Obama administration official said.
The United States now forbids US-backed loans in only six countries – Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan and Syria.
The countries of Laos and Cambodia were placed on the blacklist following the Vietnam War, when both nations became sideshow to the main struggle in neighbouring Vietnam.
US ties with Cambodia and Laos were long clouded by concerns about the fate of US service members missing since the Vietnam War. In Cambodia, the United States worried about corruption and accountability for Khmer Rouge war crimes.
While concerns over corruption remain, China’s growing influence in the region prompted the US to establish normal trade relations with Laos in 2004 and lifted all restrictions on aid to Cambodia in 2007.
Obama’s decision to take Laos off the blacklist has come under intense fire from supporters of the Hmong, a hill tribe people who fought on the side of the United States during the war and claim continued persecution from the Laotian government today.
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