Trump administration takes first steps in easing sanctions on Syria
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Trump administration takes first steps in easing sanctions on Syria
U.S. waives tough set of sanctions imposed by Congress in 2019. Treasury Department action suspended enforcement of sanctions against anyone doing business with a range of Syrian individuals and entities. While some sanctions can be quickly waived through executive actions, Congress would have to permanently remove the penalties it imposed. Syrians say they need permanent relief to secure the tens of billions of dollars in investment needed to rebuild after a conflict that displaced or killed millions of people, and left behind thousands of foreign fighters.“The only other option was Syria becoming a failed state and civil war,” said Mouaz Moustafa, a Syrian American advocate who had campaigned for quick, broad relief. “Now there is hope for a future democratic Syria,’’ the U.S.-backed Syrian government said in a statement, calling for “prompt action by the Syrian government on important policy priorities.’ ‘We’re taking them all off. Good luck, Syria. Show us something special’
While broad, the administration’s actions could possibly be reversed. Syrians say they need permanent relief to secure the tens of billions of dollars in investment needed to rebuild after a conflict that fragmented the country, displaced or killed millions of people, and left behind thousands of foreign fighters.
A measure by the State Department waived for six months a tough set of sanctions imposed by Congress in 2019. A Treasury Department action suspended enforcement of sanctions against anyone doing business with a range of Syrian individuals and entities, including Syria’s central bank.
Syria is now led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former militia commander who helped drive longtime autocratic leader Bashar Assad from power late last year.
President Donald Trump announced last week that the U.S. would roll back the heavy financial penalties in a bid to give the interim government a better chance of survival.
The Trump administration said businesses and investors are getting the protection against sanctions they need to come back to Syria, calling it “the opportunity for a fresh start.”
“The only other option was Syria becoming a failed state and civil war,” said Mouaz Moustafa, a Syrian American advocate who had campaigned for quick, broad relief. “Now there is hope for a future democratic Syria.”
The congressional sanctions, known as the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, had aimed to isolate Syria’s previous rulers by effectively expelling those doing business with them from the global financial system. They specifically block postwar reconstruction, so while they can be waived for 180 days by executive order, investors are likely to be wary of reconstruction projects when sanctions could be reinstated after six months.
The Trump administration said Friday’s actions were “just one part of a broader U.S. government effort to remove the full architecture of sanctions.” Those penalties had been imposed on the Assad family for their support of Iranian-backed militias, their chemical weapons program and abuses of civilians.
Trump administration says it expects action from Syria
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Friday that in return for sanctions relief, Trump expects “prompt action by the Syrian government on important policy priorities.”
Al-Sharaa’s own past has fueled doubts. The group that he led, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, was originally affiliated with al-Qaida, although it later renounced ties and took a more moderate tone. It is still listed by the U.S. as a terrorist organization.
But if al-Sharaa’s government fails, the U.S. and others fear renewed conflict in Syria and a power vacuum that could allow a resurgence of the Islamic State and other extremist groups.
“If we engage them, it may work out, it may not work out. If we do not engage them, it was guaranteed to not work out,” Rubio told lawmakers this week.
Trump met al-Sharaa last week in Saudi Arabia, a day after announcing his intention to lift the sanctions: “We’re taking them all off. Good luck, Syria. Show us something special.”
Rubio said sanctions relief must start quickly because Syria’s transition government could be weeks from “collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions.”
But asked by lawmakers this week what sanctions relief should look like overall, Rubio gave a one-word explanation: “Incremental.”
Moving toward permanent sanctions relief
While some sanctions can be quickly waived through executive actions like those taken Friday, Congress would have to permanently remove the penalties it imposed.
A proposal circulated among administration officials this week broadly emphasized taking all action possible, as fast as possible, according to U.S. officials familiar with the plan who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Last week, a State Department proposal laid out a three-phase road map with temporary, partial relief initially and setting sweeping conditions for Syrians to meet for any future phases of relief or permanent lifting of sanctions, one of the officials said.
Removing “Palestinian terror groups” from Syria is first on the list of conditions to get to the second phase. Supporters of sanctions relief say that might be impossible, given the subjectivity of determining which groups meet that definition and at what point they can be declared removed.
Other conditions for moving to the second phase are for the new government to take custody of detention facilities housing Islamic State fighters and to move forward on absorbing a U.S.-backed Kurdish force into the Syrian army.
To get to phase three, Syria would be required to join the Abraham Accords — normalized relations with Israel — and to prove that it had destroyed the previous government’s chemical weapons.
Israel has been suspicious of the new government, although Syrian officials have said publicly that they do not want a conflict with Israel. Since Assad fell, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes and seized a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in Syria.
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Sewell reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Fatima Hussein in Washington contributed to this report.
US issues orders easing Syria sanctions after Trump pledge
U.S. issues a general license that authorizes transactions involving the interim Syrian government. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also issues a 180-day waiver under the Caesar Act. The sanctions were imposed on the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and key individuals in 2011 after a civil war erupted there. Syria welcomes the sanctions waiver early on Saturday, which the Foreign Ministry called a “positive step in the right direction to alleviate the country’s humanitarian and economic suffering” “Syria is keen on cooperating with other countries “on the basis of mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. “It believes that dialogue and diplomacy are the best path to building balanced relations,” the ministry said. “Today’s actions represent the first step in delivering on the President’S vision of a new relationship between Syria and the United States,” Rubio said.
Summary Treasury issues general license lifting Syria sanctions
Rubio waives sanctions under Caesar Act for 180 days
Trump has asked Syria to expel foreign terrorists, take other actions
WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) – The Trump administration issued orders on Friday that it said would effectively lift sanctions on Syria, after President Donald Trump this month pledged to unwind the measures to help the country rebuild after a devastating civil war.
The Treasury Department issued a general license that authorizes transactions involving the interim Syrian government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, as well as the central bank and state-owned enterprises.
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The general license, known as GL25, “authorizes transactions prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions Regulations, effectively lifting sanctions on Syria,” the Treasury said in a statement.
“GL25 will enable new investment and private sector activity consistent with the President’s America First strategy,” the statement said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also issued a 180-day waiver under the Caesar Act to ensure that sanctions do not obstruct investment and to facilitate the provision of electricity, energy, water and sanitation and enable humanitarian efforts, he said in a statement.
“Today’s actions represent the first step in delivering on the President’s vision of a new relationship between Syria and the United States,” Rubio said, adding that Trump had made clear his expectation that sanctions relief would be followed by action by the Syrian government.
The White House said after Trump met Sharaa last week that the president asked Syria to adhere to several conditions in exchange for sanctions relief, including telling all foreign militants to leave Syria, deporting what he called Palestinian terrorists, and helping the U.S. prevent the resurgence of ISIS.
“President Trump is providing the Syrian government with the chance to promote peace and stability, both within Syria and in Syria’s relations with its neighbors,” Rubio said.
‘POSITIVE STEP’
Syria welcomed the sanctions waiver early on Saturday, which the Foreign Ministry called a “positive step in the right direction to alleviate the country’s humanitarian and economic suffering.”
Syria is keen on cooperating with other countries “on the basis of mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs. It believes that dialogue and diplomacy are the best path to building balanced relations,” the ministry said in a statement.
Most of the U.S. sanctions on Syria were imposed on the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and key individuals in 2011 after civil war erupted there. Sharaa led militias that overthrew Assad in December.
The general license names Sharaa, formerly sanctioned under the name Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani, among the people and entities with whom transactions are now authorized. It also lists Syrian Arab Airlines, the Central Bank of Syria and a number of other banks, several state oil and gas companies and the Four Seasons Damascus hotel.
Trump unexpectedly announced last week that he would lift the sanctions at the behest of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, a major U.S. policy shift he made before meeting briefly with Sharaa in Riyadh.
It is hoped that easing Syria sanctions will clear the way for greater engagement by humanitarian organizations working in Syria, encouraging foreign investment and trade as the country rebuilds. But the U.S. has imposed layers of measures against Syria, cutting it off from the international banking system and barring many imports, and the potential for sanctions on a country to return can chill private-sector investment.
The U.S. first put the country on its list of state sponsors of terrorism in 1979 and since then has added additional sets of sanctions, including several rounds following the country’s 2011 uprising against Assad.
Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Simon Lewis and Ryan Patrick Jones in Washington; Additional reporting from Cairo by Muhammad Al Gebaly; Editing by Chris Reese, Cynthia Osterman and Matthew Lewis
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“That’s how military power should be used. Decisively with a clear objective,” he said.
Vance added, “When we throw a punch, we throw a punch hard, and we do it decisively. And that’s exactly what we may ask you to do.”
Vance also criticized a Biden administration effort to build a pier in Gaza to accept aid amid Israel’s war with Hamas there which he suggested never worked.
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DOGE targets Census Bureau, worrying data users about health of US data infrastructure
The group launched by Elon Musk to cut federal spending in the second Trump administration is targeting some U.S. Census Bureau surveys it claims are “wasteful,” worrying users of federal data who are already concerned about the health of the nation’s statistical infrastructure.
The Department of Government Efficiency said on social media this week that five surveys costing $16.5 million that are conducted by the statistical agency for other federal agencies have been “terminated.” It didn’t specify which ones. The DOGE post said some of the questions on the eliminated surveys asked about alcohol consumption and the frequency of home internet use.
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Other surveys are being reviewed “one-by-one,” said Tuesday’s post on DOGE’s X account. The Census Bureau didn’t respond this week to an inquiry seeking comment.
Source: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMilgFBVV95cUxOOHBnX21XSXZ4S0ZrUmZ5eXRLdFVWeUwwRUdkM01HYU5lMzZPR3pEV3pEUW5hb1JEdkFYUnl1MHBEUDZUcGxkSTlfb2RXSUdxSXZUYUtfTWFjWTlwSkk4eVJsNDNicEk1OS1wV1VBMlpxYmtYdFBzNng0Z0tIRDJtX0p4ZWRGNTA2MVlxMHNkWWdCay1MWUE?oc=5