May 24 (UPI) — President Donald Trump‘s administration is lifting sanctions on war-torn Syria, with the goal of speeding recovery and reconstruction efforts in the Middle Eastern country.
The move will pave the way for “new investment and private sector activity consistent with the President’s America First strategy,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement this week.
Trump earlier this month met with Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa where he promised he would lift “crippling” U.S. sanctions.
“I have issued a 180-day waiver of mandatory Caesar Act sanctions to ensure sanctions do not impede the ability of our partners to make stability-driving investments, and advance Syria’s recovery and reconstruction efforts,” Rubio said in the statement.
“These waivers will facilitate the provision of electricity, energy, water, and sanitation, and enable a more effective humanitarian response across Syria.”
During his first term in the Oval Office in 2020, Trump imposed sweeping sanctions on Syria and its then-President Bashar al-Assad. The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 had a major impact on Syria’s economy, particularly its financial and construction sectors.
Trump at the time said sanctions were targeting entities and individuals that were “actively supporting the murderous and barbaric Assad regime.”
Assad was ousted from power last December, fleeing to Russia. It ended a five-decade run of Assad family rule in Syria.
In addition to lifting sanctions, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued Syria General License 25, allowing people previously blocked from conducting business with Syrian entities to do so under the new al-Sharaa government.
“The GL will allow for new investment and private sector activity consistent with the President’s America First strategy. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is providing exceptive relief to permit U.S. financial institutions to maintain correspondent accounts for the Commercial Bank of Syria,” Rubio said in the 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. “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. The President has made clear his expectation that relief will be followed by prompt action by the Syrian government on important policy priorities.”
The American directive comes just days after the European Union made a similar move. EU officials on Tuesday lifted its sanctions on Syria with the same goal of helping economic recovery.
“We want to help the Syrian people rebuild a new, inclusive and peaceful Syria,” EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said at the time.