Since the so-called transition to democracy— a transition often misunderstood and much exaggerated— Myanmar has been the centre of a ?gold rush”, as businesses from Asia and the West hope to make money from what has been called the ?Asia?s last economic frontier”. The EU accounts for around 10% of foreign direct investment in Myanmar and is keen to raise that number with its planned Investment Protection Agreement (IPA), a wide-ranging agreement on trade that has been in-negotiation in recent years. Yet, it has raised considerable concerns from civil society groups about the lack of transparency in these negotiations, and the potential negative impacts of the treaty. In 2016, over 500 CSOs jointly wrote to the EU commissioner, Cecilia Malmström, expressing their frustration with a ?consultation process” run by consulting agency ?Development Solutions”— one that amounted to little more than a few ?workshops” in Yangon and a scant questionnaire. ??[O]ne key question is missing: the question whether we at all want an IPA”, the letter states..."