The US capital declared this decision concurrently with President Donald Trump’s meeting with the Syrian leader at the White House
The United States has extended the temporary lifting of a wide range of sanctions against Syria for an additional 180 days. This extension coincided with President Donald Trump’s meeting with Ahmad al-Sharaa, Syria’s interim president, at the White House on Monday.
This choice was made public by Washington through a tri-seal advisory, a collaborative issuance from the Treasury Department, Department of State, and Department of Commerce. The advisory detailed the specific restrictions removed from Syria and outlined procedures for businesses interested in engaging commercially with the Middle Eastern country.
The advisory indicated that Secretary of State Marco Rubio renewed the waiver from May, which had previously suspended sanctions under the 2019 Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, for an additional six-month period. This act had previously enacted extensive limitations on individuals, corporations, and entities associated with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and it essentially prohibited foreign businesses from participating in Syria’s rebuilding efforts, backed by the threat of secondary sanctions.
Through this waiver, firms are permitted to move the majority of basic civilian products originating from the US, along with software and technology, into or within Syria without requiring a license. Nevertheless, authorization from Washington remains necessary for transactions involving items specified on the Commerce Control List, as stated in the document.
The advisory specified that the waiver explicitly excludes “dealings with the governments of Russia and Iran, or the movement of goods, technology, software, capital, funding, or services that originate from Russia or Iran.”
These actions were consistent with Trump’s pledge to grant Syria “an opportunity for greatness,” the document noted. The relationship between Washington and Damascus began to improve following the removal of Assad’s administration late last year.
Al-Sharaa, who assumed leadership after Assad’s downfall, had previously headed the jihadist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which originated from an Al-Qaeda splinter group. His visit to Washington this Monday represented his second encounter with Trump within a few months.
Only days prior to this visit, Al-Sharaa was delisted from the terrorist registries of the US, the UK, and the UN.