Myanmar Shuts Key Thai Trade Bridge, Stranding 500 Trucks and Threatening 130 Billion Baht in Commerce

A sudden shutdown at a vital crossing

More than 500 cargo trucks were stranded at Thailand's Mae Sot border after Myanmar authorities closed the Second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge on August 18, 2025, threatening trade estimated at 130 billion baht, approximately US$3.6 billion. By August 20, Thai officials were seeking talks while exporters faced new inspection requirements and mounting uncertainty over their shipments.

The bridge connects Mae Sot district with Myawaddy in Myanmar's Kayin State. Myanmar's order halted large vehicles and commercial goods at a crossing that accounts for nearly 40 percent of total trade between the two countries. The decision reportedly came from the capital, Naypyitaw, and caught Thai authorities off guard.

Myanmar's military government is seeking to bring more border trade revenue under central control, taking income away from ethnic armed groups that collect taxes and levies along trade routes. The shutdown places Thai exporters, Myanmar importers and communities dependent on the crossing in the middle of that struggle.

The immediate costs include idle trucks, delayed deliveries and the possibility that perishable cargo will spoil. Businesses also face higher expenses and potential layoffs as goods stop moving through one of Myanmar's last major gateways that had remained open despite the country's civil war.

The disruption comes after a period in which rising imports had pushed up the recorded value of trade through Mae Sot, even while Thai exports were already falling. A prolonged closure could deepen that decline and reverse the gains recorded on the import side.

Why the military wants control of trade revenue

Myanmar has been engulfed in civil war since the military seized power in 2021. Ethnic armed organizations and militias supporting democracy control substantial areas, including sections of important trading routes. Goods crossing the border can therefore generate revenue for forces outside the central government's control.

Armed groups, particularly the Border Guard Force in Kayin State, have collected taxes and levies on goods moving through the region for years. Those payments provide income that the military government now wants to reclaim. A spokesperson for Myanmar's Border Guard Forces said the closure was intended to cut off black market revenues funding resistance groups.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing recently pledged to target opposition fighters who use profits from illegal trade to strengthen their forces. Closing the bridge puts that policy into practice by restricting a major channel for commerce while authorities seek tighter control over how goods enter Myanmar.

The political calendar adds urgency to the military's campaign. A national election is scheduled to begin on December 28, 2025. Critics argue that the vote is intended to entrench military rule rather than restore democracy. The effort to secure trade income is unfolding alongside preparations for that contested election.

Thailand and Myanmar share a border stretching more than 2,400 kilometers. It supports trade and migration, but conflict increasingly determines which crossings and roads can operate. Restrictions at Myanmar's borders with China, India and Bangladesh had already increased the importance of the Myawaddy-Mae Sot route before this week's shutdown.

How the disruption unfolded

The bridge closure follows a longer deterioration in the roads and crossings that carry goods into Myanmar. Fighting has disrupted access beyond the border itself, leaving traders exposed to delays even when a crossing is operating.

The main dates show how those pressures have accumulated:

• 2021: Myanmar's military coup was followed by civil war involving the military, ethnic armed organizations and militias supporting democracy.
• December 2023: Fighting erupted in Kawkareik, Karen State, closing the Asian Highway, a key route for goods arriving from Thailand.
• October 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025: Mae Sot Customs recorded 138.6 billion baht in trade during the reported portion of Thailand's 2025 fiscal year.
• August 18, 2025: Myanmar closed the Second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, and the Tak Chamber of Commerce convened an emergency meeting.
• August 20, 2025: New Thai requirements took effect requiring exporters to give two days' notice before shipments and submit cargo for inspection.
• December 28, 2025: Myanmar's planned national election is scheduled to begin.

Some Thai officials anticipated that trade could resume after intensified inspections and negotiations, but no reopening date had been given as of August 20. Businesses were left preparing for further delays while awaiting clarification of Myanmar's requirements.

What the trade figures reveal

Thai exports to Myanmar through the affected route have fallen from nearly 50 billion baht per quarter to just over 10 billion baht, according to the official figures described in the August 20 account. Mobile phones and accessories, motorcycles and palm oil are among the major exports exposed to the disruption. Imports from Myanmar, led by antimony ore and chillies, have also been affected.

Mae Sot Customs recorded total trade of 138.6 billion baht between October 1, 2024, and July 31, 2025, an increase of 78.94 percent from the previous year. That headline growth concealed a sharp difference between goods entering Thailand and goods leaving it.

Imports rose by 142.34 percent, mainly because of antimony ore, while exports fell by 21.34 percent. In simple terms, the total value grew because imports increased rapidly enough to outweigh the decline in exports. Thai sellers were already losing business even as the combined trade figure rose.

The quarterly fall from nearly 50 billion baht to just over 10 billion baht amounts to roughly four fifths. Those quarterly figures describe the broader decline surrounding the disruption; the customs reporting period ending July 31 also shows that weakness in exports preceded the August 18 closure.

For Mae Sot, the danger extends beyond the value of the goods themselves. Truck operators, warehouses and businesses serving the flow of cargo depend on regular movement across the border. Idle vehicles bring continuing costs, while exporters face delayed payments and uncertainty over when buyers can receive their orders.

Perishable goods create a more immediate problem. A delayed shipment can lose value before the border reopens, making the length of the interruption especially important for traders handling food and other cargo that cannot wait indefinitely.

Unofficial routes complicate the crackdown

Mae Sot Customs estimates that 68.71 percent of imports and 61.85 percent of exports move through unapproved channels. Both figures represent a majority of the traffic in their respective categories, illustrating how much commerce operates outside approved routes.

Unofficial trade is central to the military government's stated concern about lost revenue. When goods move outside approved channels, authorities have less control over licensing, inspections and the collection of trade income. Armed groups collecting payments along those routes can benefit instead.

The crackdown includes tighter checks on import licenses and more inspections. An import license is official permission to bring specified goods into a country. Exporters in Thailand therefore need buyers and partners in Myanmar who can meet the relevant requirements before cargo can move through the approved system.

Closing the main bridge also disrupts an already complicated border economy. Local traders face pressure as established routes become unavailable, while the loss of an official crossing may push more activity underground. Businesses fear that measures aimed at smuggling will also hold up legitimate shipments.

The military's effort to capture revenue consequently affects traders with very different circumstances: those using approved procedures, those relying on informal routes and those whose cargo must pass through territory controlled by several armed forces.

Thailand seeks talks while tightening inspections

The Tak Chamber of Commerce held an emergency meeting on August 18 and urged Thailand's Ministry of Commerce to negotiate a swift resolution with Myanmar. Its immediate concern was restoring movement at the bridge before the backlog and business losses grew further.

Jatuporn Buruspat, Thailand's minister of commerce, confirmed that the Department of Foreign Trade had been instructed to meet Myanmar's commercial attaché in Thailand. The talks were intended to address goods waiting at the border and clarify new import license requirements.

From August 20, the governor of Tak province required exporters to provide two days' advance notice for all shipments. Cargo would be inspected by military, administrative and customs officials as part of tighter compliance and security arrangements.

Business owners warned that the additional procedures could add delays and put perishable goods at risk. Their concern was that a border system already interrupted by Myanmar's closure could become increasingly difficult to operate as inspection and paperwork requirements accumulated.

Thailand and Myanmar have 21 border points across seven Thai provinces, giving exporters other potential routes. Ranong, which has a maritime connection to Myanmar's Kyaukphyu port, had not been affected by the closure as of August 20.

Exporters may have to reroute shipments if the bridge remains closed. Thai businesses were also being encouraged to find new partners in Myanmar and obtain the necessary import licenses. Moving cargo elsewhere, however, would mean adjusting trading arrangements built around a crossing responsible for nearly 40 percent of bilateral commerce.

Beyond the bridge, roads are slower and more expensive

The Asian Highway has remained closed since fighting broke out in Kawkareik in December 2023. Cargo trucks and passenger buses have instead been using narrow mountain roads, where landslides, surprise inspections and numerous checkpoints slow their journeys.

Accounts of trade and traffic describe as many as 48 checkpoints along alternative routes. Various armed groups and military government forces collect tolls, adding repeated charges to the cost of transporting the same shipment.

A trader from Myawaddy described how the longer journey to Yangon feeds into the prices charged to customers:

Previously, it took two days maximum to get from the border to Yangon. But now it takes one to two weeks. And those additional expenses add up to our selling prices.

A journey lasting one to two weeks takes roughly three and a half to seven times as long as a trip completed in two days. Traders must cover the expense of keeping vehicles and goods on the road for longer, alongside the payments demanded at checkpoints.

Bus fares have quadrupled, and prices for basic goods, including toiletries, have climbed. Disrupted routes have also contributed to shortages of essential imports such as medicine and food, adding to hardship inside Myanmar.

Reopening the bridge would restore access to an important crossing, while the damaged transport network beyond Myawaddy would continue to shape delivery times and prices. Traders still need a workable route from the border to the cities where their customers live.

Other borders offer little relief

Myanmar's problems extend beyond its frontier with Thailand. The Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar reported that overland trade with China had collapsed, with ethnic armed organizations controlling key crossings that previously accounted for 91 percent of border trade value.

Trade with India and Bangladesh has also ground to a halt because of continuing conflict. The closure or severe restriction of those routes made Myawaddy-Mae Sot especially valuable as one of the remaining major gateways for goods.

The loss of legal trading routes has been accompanied by more illegal activity. Some estimates put the share of border trade conducted outside official channels at as much as 80 percent. That estimate describes the wider border economy, while Mae Sot Customs gives its own figures for imports and exports through unapproved channels.

Myanmar's military government has tried to open alternative routes and expand air cargo operations. Those options are more expensive and less efficient, adding pressure to an economy already struggling with shortages and inflation.

For households, the consequences arrive through shop prices and availability. When several borders are restricted at the same time, importers have fewer practical ways to replace delayed goods, including food and medicine. Rising costs and scarcity are deepening economic hardship and discontent with military rule.

Trade, energy and migration tie Thailand to the crisis

Thailand's relationship with Myanmar reaches well beyond the bridge. Thailand imports about 15 percent of its natural gas and electricity from Myanmar, and Thai companies have substantial investments in Myanmar's energy, banking and manufacturing sectors.

The shutdown threatens commercial interests and adds to concerns about energy security if the conflict escalates. Thailand's challenge is therefore broader than clearing the line of trucks at Mae Sot: continued instability affects a neighbor with which it shares trade, investment and energy connections.

Thailand also hosts around 1.8 million registered workers from Myanmar, alongside many unregistered migrants and refugees who have fled the conflict. Further disruption could increase humanitarian pressure, strain Thai resources and complicate the management of movement across the border.

Thailand's response is shaped by divisions within its own institutions. The civilian government has sought engagement with opposition groups and supported peace initiatives led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. The Thai military maintains close ties with Myanmar's junta.

Those differing approaches have made it harder to form a unified response and limited Thailand's influence over developments across the border. For businesses seeking predictable rules, diplomatic engagement must operate alongside security relationships and the fragmented control of territory inside Myanmar.

Negotiations face problems beyond customs

Thai officials expressed cautious optimism that intensified inspections and negotiations could allow trade to restart. A resumption would let waiting cargo begin moving and help businesses reduce the immediate costs of the shutdown.

Myanmar's civil war, competition for trade revenue and the financial incentives behind unofficial commerce remain unresolved. Armed groups and government forces continue to control different parts of the routes on which traders depend.

Without a broader political settlement and improved security, further disruptions remain a risk. Communities on both sides of the border are consequently preparing for continued uncertainty even as they seek a quick resolution to the current closure.

The crisis connects decisions made in Naypyitaw with very practical consequences in Mae Sot, Myawaddy and Yangon: trucks waiting to cross, traders paying more to move goods and families facing higher prices. Restoring a dependable flow of commerce requires access at the bridge and usable routes beyond it.

Key Points

• Myanmar closed the Second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge on August 18, 2025, halting large vehicles and commercial goods.
• More than 500 trucks were stranded, with trade estimated at 130 billion baht, approximately US$3.6 billion, threatened.
• The military government is seeking control of trade revenues collected by ethnic armed groups and through unofficial commerce.
• Mae Sot Customs recorded 138.6 billion baht in trade from October 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025. Imports rose 142.34 percent, while exports fell 21.34 percent.
• Thailand sought talks with Myanmar and introduced two days' advance notice and inspections for shipments from August 20.
• Fighting, road closures and as many as 48 checkpoints have lengthened journeys and raised transport costs inside Myanmar.
• No reopening date had been given as of August 20. Myanmar's planned national election is scheduled to begin on December 28, 2025.