US grants Syria initial sanctions relief
The Treasury Department said the move is meant to facilitate activity across all sectors of Syria's economy and encourage new investment.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Friday announced immediate sanctions relief for Syria, a move that comes less than two weeks after President Donald Trump said he would be taking steps to normalize relations with the country's new government.
The details of the partial sanctions relief were first reported by Al-Monitor.
The Treasury Department has issued General License 25, which it said in a news release would “facilitate activity across all sectors of the Syrian economy” while enabling new investment and private sector activity. It authorizes transactions that would otherwise be prohibited under US sanctions on Syria, including new investment, the provision of financial services and sales related to Syrian petroleum products.
Separately, the State Department has issued a six-month waiver under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, a 2019 law that allows for sanctions on foreigners or companies that do business with the government, specifically in the construction, engineering, energy or aviation sectors.
“As President Trump promised, the Treasury Department and the State Department are implementing authorizations to encourage new investment into Syria,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
“Syria must also continue to work towards becoming a stable country that is at peace, and today’s actions will hopefully put the country on a path to a bright, prosperous, and stable future,” Bessent said.
The United States has labeled Syria a state sponsor of terrorism since 1979 and intensified sanctions on the country beginning in 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on peaceful protests against its ironfisted rule. Sanctions were expanded in 2020 under the Caesar Act.
During his trip to Saudi Arabia earlier this month, Trump announced that he would be lifting sanctions on Syria "to give them a chance at greatness." The next day, Trump met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led the insurgency that ousted longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad in December.
More than 13 years of civil war, rampant government corruption and Western sanctions have left Syria isolated from the global financial system. Over 90% of Syrians live below the poverty level, and one in four is unemployed, according to the United Nations.
Syria urgently needs investment to rebuild the country, the estimated cost of which ranges from $250 billion to $400 billion. The governor of Syria's central bank, Abdulkader Husrieh, told Al-Monitor that lifting sanctions would restore Syria’s access to the international financial system, including by allowing it to unblock frozen assets and interact with global banking institutions.
This story has been updated since first publication.
