Senator Warren and Representative Wilson Lead Bipartisan Call for Updates to Outdated Syria Sanctions to Support Reconstruction and Promote Stability in Region
“Given the serious risks of inaction, we urge you to consider unwinding or replacing outdated measures like the broad services and investment prohibitions and other restrictions that have country-wide impact.”
“Sanctions inertia would undercut Syria’s path to stability. It could spur new migration or entrench reliance on the trafficking and export of illicit drugs like captagon. Moreover, impeding reconstruction would open the door once again to Iran and Russia.”
Washington, DC – Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC-02), Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging updates to outdated U.S. sanctions on Syria. The lawmakers warned that broad restrictions imposed more than a decade ago—targeting a regime that no longer exists—now risk undermining U.S. national security objectives and impeding Syria’s reconstruction.
“As the Departments of State and the Treasury work to develop Syria policy at this critical moment, we ask that you modify broad or outdated sanctions prohibitions that will undercut U.S. objectives if left in place,” wrote the lawmakers.
While counterterrorism measures remain critical, the lawmakers highlight how measures like broad bans on financial services and investment are restricting economic recovery, driving Syrians toward illicit markets, and creating openings for adversaries like Iran and Russia to reassert influence. They stressed the need for changes that support stability while maintaining pressure on terrorist organizations and malign actors.
“We appreciate that your departments have started to adjust our sanctions through important yet incomplete initial steps,”wrote the lawmakers. “But our sanctions still limit a wide range of private sector activities, impeding the economic exchange necessary for the scale of reconstruction that Syria needs.”
The lawmakers also call on the State and Treasury Departments to provide a clear roadmap outlining specific actions Syrian authorities could take to bring about additional sanctions relief beyond near-term changes. In the letter, they argue that acting soon may be critical to avoid harm to U.S. interests and to help the Syrian people build a better future after enduring years of oppressive rule.
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