Congress Votes Today to Lift 'Caesar' Sanctions on Syria

SadaNews - The U.S. Congress is set to vote today, Wednesday, on the final version of an amendment to repeal the "Caesar Law," which would permanently and definitively lift U.S. sanctions on Syria before Christmas.

This came in a draft document prepared as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, and it requests a periodic review of the Syrian government's performance.

The draft document indicated that the lifting of sanctions is subject to certain conditions, including that President Donald Trump submits an initial report to Congress committees within 90 days, followed by reports every 180 days for four years.

The draft specified that Syria must confirm that it is taking tangible steps to combat terrorist organizations, respect minority rights, refrain from unilateral military action against neighboring countries, combat money laundering and terrorism financing, pursue crimes against humanity committed under the ousted regime, and combat drug production.

It was noted that if these conditions are not met during two consecutive reporting periods, sanctions could be re-imposed.

On November 10, the U.S. Treasury Department announced the suspension of sanctions imposed on Syria under the Caesar Law for a period of 180 days.

On December 11, 2019, the U.S. Congress approved the Caesar Law to punish key figures of the Assad regime for war crimes committed against civilians in Syria.

Lifting the law could pave the way for the return of investments and foreign aid to support the new Syrian government led by President Ahmad al-Shara, which was established in March 2025.

The U.S. sanctions have posed a significant obstacle to the recovery of the Syrian economy, and their lifting is viewed as a sign of success for the new Syrian government.

The 2019 Caesar Law imposed sweeping sanctions on Syria targeting individuals, companies, and institutions linked to Assad, who ruled Syria after the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad, from 2000 until his ouster in 2024.

These sanctions were named after a codename for a Syrian military photographer who leaked thousands of horrific images documenting the torture and war crimes committed by the Assad government.