Syria sanctions lifted? Not so fast …

The White House is not yet ready to permanently lift US sanctions that have devastated Syria’s economy for over a decade, despite President Donald Trump’s recent announcement that he planned to do so, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on 19 May.

President Trump said during his visit to Saudi Arabia last week that all US sanctions targeting Damascus would be lifted.

However, Rubio said on Thursday that Trump intends to issue temporary waivers to the sanctions lasting six months.

“That’s what the president intends to do. Those waivers have to be renewed every 180 days. Ultimately, if we make enough progress, we’d like to see the law repealed, because you’re going to struggle to find people to invest in a country when in six months sanctions could come back,” Rubio said.

“We’re not there yet, that’s premature.”

The sanctions can only be lifted permanently through legislation passed by the US Congress because the most recent round was imposed on Syria through legislation known as the “Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act” in 2019.

Congress imposed sanctions to collapse Syria’s economy, in an effort to topple the previous government of president Bashar al-Assad. The sanctions complemented the CIA’s covert war to oust Assad starting in 2011. Militants from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, conquered Damascus in December with US and Turkish support, causing Assad to flee to Russia. Sharaa, the former Al-Qaeda in Iraq commander who was known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani, is now Syria’s de facto president.

Speaking to reporters in Antalya, Turkiye, Rubio claimed the US wants to do everything it can to help make Syria a stable, peaceful country after 14 years of war.

He added that Republican and Democratic members of the US Congress had asked the Trump administration to use waiver authorities in the “Caesar Act” to lift sanctions.

“I think as we make progress, hopefully we’ll be in a position soon, or one day, to go to Congress and ask them to permanently remove the sanctions,” Rubio said.

Syria’s foreign minister was in Washington two weeks ago, and preparatory work was already underway regarding the Syria sanctions, Rubio said.

Removing US sanctions would allow Syria to regain access to the global financial system, allowing humanitarian organizations, foreign investors, and traders to resume activities in the country.

The Treasury Department in a post on X on Thursday said it was working with the State Department and National Security Council to execute Trump’s decision.

“We look forward to implementing the necessary authorizations that would be critical to bringing new investment into Syria,” it said.

“Treasury’s actions can help rebuild Syria’s economy, financial sector, and infrastructure and could put the country on a path to a bright, prosperous, and stable future.”