How Caesar Act could hurt Lebanon's Tripoli

TRIPOLI, Lebanon — The US Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act went into effect on June 17, promising to impose sanctions on any actor who provides significant business, military or reconstruction assistance to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In neighboring Lebanon, where hyperinflation and multiple financial crises are continuing since last year, the new law is likely to have a significant impact due to the country’s historically close economic relationship with Syria. Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab called on the international community to “shield” Lebanon from the law’s sanctions during a conference in Brussels, Belgium on June 30.

The Caesar Act may have particularly acute implications for Tripoli, Lebanon’s second largest city, which sits just 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the Syrian border. The city has had a longstanding goal to become a regional logistics and economic hub and to act as a gateway for investment in Syria’s post-war reconstruction, and although some officials dispute the idea that disruptions will take place, it is now clear that US sanctions will deter any business or investment involving the Syrian government under Assad until there is a political transition in Damascus.

Cross-border smuggling between Lebanon and Syria may increase as official trade winds down with implementation of the act, exacerbating tensions on the ground in Tripoli, where shortages are already wreaking havoc on the city’s impoverished and crisis-hit residents.

Following years of neglect by the central government in Beirut, Tripoli had moved closer to capitalizing on its strategic position near the frontier. Work began on the Tripoli Special Economic Zone in 2016, the Lebanese Parliament approved a loan to expand the city’s port in 2018 and agreements were made the same year to renovate the city’s train station and to connect Tripoli to Syria by rail.