YANGON (TIP): Myanmar cheered a US promise to end sanctions on Sept 16, with residents in its commercial capital clamouring for American brands while politicians and business moguls heralded a new era of transparency and trade.

US President Barack Obama vowed to scrap the trade limits during Aung San Suu Kyi’s first visit to the White House since her party took power in March, ending decades of military domination.

The move marks a milestone in the country’s rapid transformation from an international pariah into Asia’s fastest-growing economy under the leadership of the Nobel laureate.

But Soe Naung Win, who owns a mobile phone shop in Myanmar’s bustling economic capital of Yangon, had more immediate concerns.