Foreign policy and sanctions

Executive Order 13047: Prohibiting New Investment in Burma

President: Bill Clinton

Declared a national emergency over repression in Burma and prohibited new investment there by United States persons.

Status: Revoked.

Is Executive Order 13047 still in effect? No. Revoked and its national emergency terminated by EO 13742 on October 7, 2016; a separate Burma emergency began under EO 14014 in 2021.

What does Executive Order 13047 do?

EO 13047 declared a national emergency over the Burmese government’s repression and prohibited new investment in Burma by U.S. persons as defined in the order. It also prohibited facilitation and evasion, while allowing specified transactions and licenses. EO 13310 later displaced inconsistent provisions; EO 13742 revoked the order in full and ended that emergency in October 2016. A separate Burma emergency began under EO 14014 in 2021, so the 1997 order is not a guide to current sanctions.

Administration position: The order prohibited defined new investment, not every transaction with Burma. Current restrictions must be checked under the separate post-2021 sanctions program.
SignedMay 20, 1997
MeasureBan on new US investment
Original emergency endedOctober 7, 2016

Before and after

Before the order

Congress had conditioned an investment prohibition on a presidential certification of large-scale repression.

After the order

Treasury administered the investment ban and later Burma sanctions until the 2016 termination; a distinct program began in 2021.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
US personsAvoid prohibited new investmentHistorical 1997–2016
TreasuryIssue licenses and enforce the sanctionsHistorical framework
State DepartmentSupport foreign-policy implementationHistorical framework

What happened next

EO 13047 declared the emergency and set the new-investment prohibition.

EO 13310 displaced inconsistent provisions of sections 1-7.

EO 13742 revoked EO 13047 in full and terminated its emergency.

EO 14014 began a distinct Burma emergency.

The original order and official disposition history were compared.