Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free
Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world
Washington has granted Syria broad exemptions from sweeping economic sanctions in a step towards fulfilling US President Donald Trump’s promise to help the country get a “fresh start” after more than 14 years of civil war.
Late on Friday the Treasury Department issued a general licence that authorises any future transactions with individuals and entities connected to the nascent government of Ahmed al-Sharaa, as well as the central bank and several state-owned enterprises.
This is “effectively lifting sanctions on Syria”, it said in a statement.
The licence “will enable new investment and private sector activity consistent with the President’s America First strategy”, the statement said, adding that it would “facilitate activity across all sectors of the Syrian economy”.
The State Department also issued a 180-day waiver for the so-called Caesar Act, a stringent set of sanctions imposed by Congress in 2019 that aimed to isolate Syria’s then-rulers the Assad dynasty by rendering anyone who did business with them a pariah in the global financial system.
The waiver will facilitate the provision of electricity, energy, water and sanitation and enable greater humanitarian efforts. But investors have expressed concern that the potential for sanctions to return after six months could chill private sector interest.
“Today’s actions represent the first step in delivering on the President’s vision of a new relationship between Syria and the United States,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
Rubio added that the president expected that relief from sanctions would be followed by “action” on a key set of policy priorities Washington asked Sharaa to adhere to, after Trump announced he would roll back sanctions earlier this month. Those include expelling foreign militants as well as what Trump called “Palestinian terrorists” and helping the US prevent the resurgence of Isis.
Trump said his decision to lift sanctions, announced during a visit to Riyadh earlier this month, was intended to give the fledgling government a better chance of survival. He also said Washington was exploring normalising relations with the new government. Following Trump’s announcement, the EU rolled back its sanctions on Syria last week.
The Syrian foreign ministry welcomed the waiver, which it called a “positive step in the right direction to alleviate the country’s humanitarian and economic suffering”.
The general licence will grant an exemption to those transacting with Syrian Arab Airlines and the Central Bank of Syria as well as other banks, state oil and gas companies and the Four Seasons hotel in Damascus. It also grants an exemption to those transacting with Sharaa himself; he was sanctioned by the US in 2013 under his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani.
The Syrian leader and his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham movement, which dominates the new government and security forces, were designated terrorists by the US because of past affiliations with al-Qaeda. Sharaa renounced his ties to al-Qaeda in 2016 and has pledged that his government will remain inclusive.
Syrians hope that easing sanctions will clear the way for the country’s recovery by allowing for an influx of foreign investment and trade and will boost Sharaa as he battles to consolidate his administration’s control over the fragmented nation.
