US preparing to issue some sanctions relief to Syria

By Humeyra Pamuk

ANTALYA, Turkey (Reuters) - The United States is likely to issue some sanctions relief to Syria in coming weeks following President Donald Trump's announcement that all sanctions targeting Damascus would be lifted.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that Trump intends to issue waivers under the "Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act", through which Washington imposed stiff sanctions on former President Bashar al-Assad's government and secondary sanctions on outside companies or governments that worked with it.

A Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Thursday that the Treasury Department "would likely issue general licenses covering a broad range of the economy that is critical to rebuilding in the coming weeks."

Trump said on Tuesday that he would order the lifting of all sanctions on Syria at the behest of Saudi Arabia's crown prince, in a major U.S. policy shift that took some in his own administration off guard and left the Treasury and State departments scrambling to understand how to unwind the sanctions.

Speaking to reporters in Antalya, Turkey, Rubio said the U.S. wants to do everything it can to help achieve a peaceful, stable Syria as the country emerges from 13 years of war.

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

"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 Ultimately, if we make enough progress, we'd like to see the law repealed, because you're going to struggle to find people to invest in a country when in six months sanctions could come back," Rubio said.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."

Overturning the bill would require congressional action, but it includes a provision allowing the president to suspend the sanctions for national security reasons. Trump could also issue a general license suspending some or all of the 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.

PREPARATORY WORK UNDERWAY

Syria's foreign minister was in Washington two weeks ago and preparatory work was already under way regarding the Syria sanctions, most of which are statutory under the "Caesar Act," Rubio said.

Removing U.S. sanctions that cut Syria off from the global financial system would clear the way for greater engagement by humanitarian organizations working in Syria, easing foreign investment and trade as the country rebuilds.

Trump said he would remove all sanctions, saying they had served an important function, but it was time for Syria to move forward.

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."

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; writing by Daphne Psaledakis and Simon Lewis, Editing by Franklin Paul and Rosalba O'Brien)