U.S. eases hurdles for aid to Myanmar

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday lifted a bureaucratic hurdle in an effort to make it easier for aid groups to offer assistance to cyclone-ravaged Myanmar.

The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control lifted a requirement that aid groups seek permission before providing assistance to Myanmar, where the death toll has reached nearly 22,500 with another 41,000 missing.

"The goal is taking away a barrier to humanitarian relief," said John Rankin, a Treasury spokesman.

Aid groups are still prohibited from providing money or services directly to the Myanmar government without obtaining U.S. government approval. However the U.S. is considering such requests on an expedited basis given the emergency situation, Rankin said.

The United States imposed financial sanctions against Myanmar in 2003 to pressure the country's military rulers.

(Reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Andrea Ricci)