📰 U.S. issues advisory easing sanctions, export controls on Syria

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The U. S. Departments of State, Commerce, and the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued on Tuesday a coordinated advisory outlining significant sanctions relief and export-control changes for Syria, aimed at encouraging economic engagement and reconstruction, as per a Tri-Seal Advisory published in December.   The advisory underscores that the United States has terminated comprehensive sanctions on Syria, removing significant barriers to business and trade after U. S. leader Donald Trump formally revoked the longstanding Syria sanctions program in May 2025. The advisory states that most basic civilian U.

S. -origin goods, software, and technology can now be transferred to or within Syria without a U. S. license, and that the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act has been repealed by Congress, lifting its mandatory sanctions. Moreover, nonetheless, the advisory makes clear that targeted restrictions remain in place against what Washington terms the “worst of the worst,” including deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and his close associates, human rights abusers, captagon traffickers and other destabilizing actors designated under U. S. sanctions authorities.   Economic measures outlined in the advisory follow a Sep. 2 rule by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) that eased licensing requirements for dual-use exports to Syria.

Under this rule, numerous items with predominantly civilian uses, specified consumer communications devices and civil aviation-related goods no longer require an export license, and other exports related to telecommunications, sanitation, power and other civil services may be approved more readily. The advisory also highlights past actions by the U. S. administration in 2025: the revocation of the Foreign Terrorist Organization designation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) by the State Department, and easing of certain sanctions under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act.   U. S. authorities framed the coordinated advisory as part of broader efforts to “backing a stable, unified and peaceful Syria,” encouraging U. S. firms and foreign partners to engage with the Syrian market while maintaining pressure on designated harmful actors.

Additionally,   On Dec. 17, the U. S. Congress permanently repealed the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act sanctions on Syria by incorporating the repeal into the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Senate approved the NDAA by a 77–20 vote, following earlier passage in the House of Representatives, signaling bipartisan backing for ending the sanctions that targeted the Syrian administration, its business partners and associates for war crimes and human rights abuses under…