The US Treasury Department announced on Monday the removal of sanctions regulations imposed on Syria from the Federal Register, with the decision taking effect from Tuesday, August 26, 2025. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) implemented the necessary amendments following Executive Order 14312 issued on June 30, 2025, regarding the lifting of sanctions. This move follows President Donald Trump’s executive order in early July 2025 to end US sanctions on Syria, which were initially imposed in response to the Assad regime’s crackdown on the 2011 uprising. The decision comes amid international anticipation of the economic repercussions on Syria, which lost $800 billion over a decade and a half of war, according to the UN Development Program. The war caused Syria’s GDP to fall by 50%, poverty rates to rise from 33% to 90%, and 75% of the population now requires humanitarian aid including healthcare, education, employment, food security, water, energy, and shelter.

On December 8, 2024, Syrian factions took control of the country, ending 61 years of Baath party rule, including 53 years under the Assad family.