US extends pause on Syria sanctions

The US has prolonged the suspension of a broad package of sanctions on Syria for another 180 days as President Donald Trump met with the Syrian interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, at the White House on Monday.

Washington announced the decision in a tri-seal advisory issued jointly by the Treasury Department and the Departments of State and Commerce. The document listed the restrictions lifted from Syria and provided guidelines for companies seeking to do business with the Middle Eastern state.

According to the advisory, Secretary of State Marco Rubio extended the May waiver suspending sanctions under the 2019 Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act for another six months. The law imposed wide-ranging restrictions on individuals, companies, and institutions linked to former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and effectively barred any foreign companies from engaging in the nation’s reconstruction under threat of secondary sanctions.

Under the waiver, companies are allowed to transfer most basic civilian goods of US origin, as well as software and technology, to or within Syria without a license. Permission from Washington is still needed, however, to trade in items listed on the Commerce Control List, the document said.

The waiver does not cover “transactions involving the governments of Russia and Iran, or the transfer of provisions of Russian-origin or Iranian-origin goods, technology, software, funds, financing, or services,” the advisory said.

The measures were part of Trump’s commitment to give Syria “a chance at greatness,” the document stated. Relations between Washington and Damascus started to thaw after the ousting of Assad’s government late last year.

Al-Sharaa, who rose to power following the fall of Assad, had previously led the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which had evolved from a former Al-Qaeda offshoot. His visit to Washington on Monday marked his second meeting with Trump in recent months.

Just days before the visit, the US, as well as the UK and UN, removed Al-Sharaa from their respective terrorist lists.