Syrians on the streets of Damascus on Saturday welcomed the Trump administration’s move to ease sanctions imposed on war-torn countries.
Their celebration follows the formal relaxation of sanctions by the EU earlier this week, followed by the relaxation of US sanctions announced last week on US President Donald Trump’s tour of the Middle East.
“I cried honestly yesterday when I read the news that Caesar sanctions had actually been lifted, especially after reports I’ve heard in recent weeks,” resident Zeina Shara told local media.
“We are finally seeing a real step towards a country’s recovery,” she added.
The relief from the sanctions follows the collapse of Assad’s regime in December 2024. On Tuesday, the EU said it had adopted a gradual and reversible approach to help Syria move and economic recovery following the suspension of sanctions in February.
For the United States, congressional sanctions known as the Caesar Syrian Civil Protection Act aimed at sequestering previous Syrian rulers by effectively banishing people who do business from the global financial system.
However, a lawsuit by the Ministry of Finance has suspended enforcement of sanctions against those who do business with a variety of Syrian individuals and entities, including the Syrian central bank.
The State Department’s measures have waived the strict set of sanctions imposed by Congress in 2019 for six months.
They block postwar reconstruction, and although executive orders can be abandoned for 180 days, investors may be wary of reconstruction projects if sanctions could revive six months later.
US President Donald Trump has admitted that Syria has wiped out sanctions exemptions as a major step towards fulfilling his pledge to lift half-century penalties in a country that has been crushed by a 14-year civil war.
Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that the country would “reach out” to anyone who wishes to work with Damascus, on the condition that there is no intervention in the country’s internal affairs.
On Friday, the Trump administration said the action was “just part of the broader US government’s efforts to remove the full construction of sanctions.”
These penalties were imposed on the Assad family for Iranian support militias, chemical weapons programs and support for civilian abuse.
Nael Kadda, a Damascus resident, said sanctions have been eased and the country will flourish again.
For Kadda, Syrians are free to transfer money, unlike in the past when there were several companies that monopolized business and adopted a large committee on relocation.
“Now anyone can get a transfer from anywhere in the world,” he said.
The EU and the US say the removal of sanctions aims to make the interim Syrian government more likely to survive. This is an important decision welcomed by the Damascus administration.
