US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Myanmar President Thein Sein on Wednesday that the United States would take steps to ease the US ban on imports from the country, a major boon to the Southeast Asian nation.

"In recognition of the continued progress toward reform and in response to requests from both the government and the opposition, the United States is taking the next step in normalizing our commercial relationship," Clinton told Thein Sein in a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

"We will begin the process of easing restrictions on imports of (Myanmar) goods into the US. We hope this will provide more opportunities for your people to sell their goods into our market."