in effect
Executive Order 14312, signed June 30, 2025, is a presidential directive that lifts the broad package of U.S. economic sanctions that had been imposed on Syria under the Assad government over the previous two decades. It simultaneously establishes a narrower, targeted sanctions framework aimed at former Assad-era officials, war crimes perpetrators, and anyone who undermines Syria’s political transition.
Six earlier executive orders dating from 2004 through 2011 — which blocked Syrian government property, froze assets of Syrian officials, and prohibited broad categories of trade — are revoked effective July 1, 2025. A national emergency that underpinned those orders is formally terminated, though legal cases and penalties already in progress before that date are not erased. The Chemical and Biological Weapons Act sanctions on Syria are waived on the basis that Syria has undergone a fundamental change in leadership, with the waiver taking effect 20 days after Congress is notified. Export controls under the Syria Accountability Act are partially waived, and the Secretary of State may suspend Caesar Act sanctions if statutory criteria are met, with a requirement to reimpose them if conditions deteriorate. A remaining sanctions authority (Executive Order 13894) is expanded and updated to target former Assad officials, captagon drug traffickers, human rights abusers, and anyone who obstructs Syria’s political transition or expropriates property for personal gain.
U.S. businesses, banks, and individuals previously barred from trade, investment, or financial transactions with Syria may now engage with the country, subject to any remaining targeted restrictions. Former Assad government officials, their adult family members, individuals linked to chemical weapons or captagon trafficking, and anyone blocking Syria’s democratic transition remain subject to asset freezes and U.S. entry bans under the updated framework. The new Syrian government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa is the primary beneficiary of the relief, while the State Department is directed to separately review whether Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism and certain terrorist organization designations connected to al-Sharaa himself should be changed.