The gems trade in Burma has slumped dramatically due to the sanctions imposed by the United States in December, according to gems and jade traders inside Burma and along the border areas... Traders in Rangoon said that they have not been able to sell many stones at the recent gems shows organized by the Burmese authorities... [The] state media did not report, either in print or on television, the profits from [a recent] gems fair... In December, the US House of Representatives imposed sanctions against Burma’s multi-million dollar gemstone exports and the natural gas industry... The Human Rights Watch group last week also called for a boycott of the latest Burmese gem shows. [refers to Myanmar Gems Enterprise, Chevron]