US tariffs: Myanmar, Laos, Syria hit with steepest levies

WASHINGTON: US President Trump's revised global tariff plan unveiled Thursday hit Laos and Myanmar hard with a 40% import duty - the second-highest rate in the world behind only Syria at 41%. The White House hasn't explained its rationale, and US trade with all three is small compared with its other partners.

Myanmar remains under US sanctions following its 2021 coup, and Laos has drawn US scrutiny for deepening ties with China. Syria, meanwhile, had been penalized for human rights abuses under former President Bashar Al-Assad. In Myanmar's case, trade with the US totalled $734 million last year - yet the penalty will deepen an economic collapse that began when Min Aung Hlaing seized power in a coup more than four years ago.