Lifting Sanctions: A Joint Gift from Trump and Bin Salman to the Syrian People
Lifting Sanctions: A Joint Gift from Trump and Bin Salman to the Syrian People
Donald Trump, the President of the United States, promised to lift sanctions on Syria one day before meeting with Ahmad Al-Shara, the new leader of Syria, in Saudi Arabia. The European Union and the United Kingdom have also reduced some sanctions, and if Washington takes full action, other countries might join this trend. The release of this news on the evening of May 13th sparked a wave of joy within Syria, and many economic activists described it as a significant step towards rebuilding the economy and rejoining the global community.
Some traders and investors from the region, especially Turkey and the Gulf countries, also expressed interest in participating in reconstruction and investment projects in Syria with the lifting of U.S. sanctions. Official Syrian data indicates that the country’s gross domestic product has more than halved between 2010 and 2022, and the economy has shrunk by about 83% between 2010 and 2024.
What follows is a list of U.S. sanctions against Syria over the years, and you can also read a report on the current state of the Syrian economy and the impact of the 14-year civil war, in which the Islamic Republic of Iran played a significant role and ultimately ended with Assad’s fall in December 2024.
United States Sanctions Against Syria
1. Initial Sanctions 1979 to 2003: In 1979, the U.S. placed Syria on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, resulting in a ban on arms sales, foreign aid, and exports of dual-use civilian and military goods. In 1986, further restrictions on exports and financial transactions were imposed.
2. Syria Accountability Act of 2004: The George Bush administration imposed these sanctions on Syria due to its support for terrorist groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the extremist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, military presence in Lebanon until withdrawal in 2005, and concerns over the production of weapons of mass destruction. The sanctions included a ban on U.S. exports except for food and medicine, asset freezes for specific individuals, and a ban on U.S. company investments in Syria.
3. Sanctions Following the Start of the Civil War During the Obama Era: In response to the widespread suppression of protesters by the Assad regime, Barack Obama signed three executive orders in 2011. These included asset freezes and travel bans for Bashar al-Assad and Syrian military and security officials, a ban on U.S. imports of Syrian oil, and a prohibition on American citizens and companies investing in Syria’s energy sector.
4. Banking and Financial Sanctions: A complete ban on dollar transactions with Syria for American banks, severing banking ties with Syrian banks, placing the Syrian Central Bank on the blacklist, and extensive restrictions on access to the global financial system for all Syrian institutions.
5. Caesar Act for the Protection of Syrian Civilians 2020: This was one of the strongest sanction laws against Syria, targeting the country’s government institutions and any foreign individual or company supporting the Syrian military, energy sector, construction, or airlines. A key feature of this sanction was its applicability to non-American individuals and companies, including Russian, Iranian, and Lebanese entities, aiming to prevent Syria’s reconstruction without a political solution and to punish war criminals and human rights violators.
6. Sectoral Sanctions: Oil and Gas – Complete ban on investment and exports; Military and Dual-Use Equipment – Complete ban; Aviation and Transportation – Sanctions on Syrian Airlines and subsidiaries; Construction and Real Estate – Covered under the Caesar Act.
7. Sanctions on Individuals and Entities: Hundreds of Syrian and non-Syrian individuals and entities are on the U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions list, including members of the Assad family, Syrian military and intelligence commanders, businessmen close to the government, and networks affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran and Hezbollah in Syria.
Current State of the Syrian Economy
The World Bank estimates that the value of the Syrian economy is now about $21 billion, roughly equivalent to the economies of countries like Albania and Armenia, which have much smaller populations. Official Syrian data indicates that the country’s gross domestic product has more than halved between 2010 and 2022, and the economy has shrunk by about 83% between 2010 and 2024.
In 2018, Syria was classified as a low-income country, and according to United Nations statistics, over 90% of its 25 million population lives below the poverty line. The state of the national currency: Since 2019, the Lebanese crisis and its close economic ties with Syria have exacerbated Damascus’s currency crisis. The government has defined different rates for various transactions to preserve foreign currency. On May 15th, the official dollar rate was announced as about 11,000 lira, while at the time of Assad’s fall, one dollar was traded for up to 22,000 lira. This rate was around 47 lira in 2011.
Syria’s Debts
The government has announced debts between $20 and $23 billion, mainly in the form of bilateral loans, but it is estimated that this figure could rise to $50 billion, especially if claims from Iran and Russia are considered. Some international legal experts believe these debts might be canceled as illegitimate war debts since they were incurred without the consent of the Syrian people and solely for the Assad regime’s military objectives.
Central Bank Reserves
The Central Bank’s foreign reserves are estimated to be only about $200 million, whereas this figure was around $18.5 billion before the war in 2011. Syria also holds about 26 tons of gold, valued at over $26 billion. The new government hopes to release $400 million of the country’s frozen assets for economic reforms. Some of these assets are held in Switzerland, about 99 million Swiss francs, and in the United Kingdom, about 163 million pounds.
Impact of War and Sanctions on Trade and Economy
Oil and tourism revenues, which brought about $18.4 billion in exports for Syria in 2010, fell to $18 billion in 2021. To compensate for this shortfall, the government turned to smuggling drugs, especially Captagon, and fuel. The World Bank estimates the market value of these substances at up to $56 billion.
Energy Challenges
In 2010, Syria exported 380,000 barrels of oil daily, but this source of income was nearly wiped out after the war. Oil fields fell into the hands of various groups, including ISIS and Kurdish forces, and sanctions made legal exports difficult. Syria is now dependent on energy imports, mainly from Iran and Russia. However, the shipment of Iranian fuel stopped last December following Bashar al-Assad’s fall.
Agriculture and Food Crisis
Drought and war have crippled Syrian agriculture.
Wheat production in 2021 and 2022 fell to about one-quarter of pre-war levels. Syria annually imported about one million tons of grains from Russia. This trend stopped with the change of government but resumed last month.
Ukraine has also expressed readiness to supply wheat, but it is unclear how Syria will pay for it.
