On August 24, 2026, the US Department of State rescinded Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (“SST”) and revoked the designation of al-Nusrah Front, also known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (“HTS”), as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (“SDGT”). Concurrently, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) removed HTS from the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (“SDN List”), revoked Syria General License 25 (“GL 25”), and updated…
In less than two weeks, we have seen Syria go from one of the most heavily sanctioned countries on the planet to a country well on the road to establishing normal trade relations with the Western world. The latest flurry of developments started on May 13, 2025, when President Trump caught much of the world by surprise when he said in a speech in Riyadh: “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria…
On February 17, the Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) in the US Commerce Department announced that it is expediting the processing of export license applications for items needed to aid survivors of the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria through NGOs. While most items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) do not require licenses for export to Türkiye, Syria is subject to comprehensive US export controls and, as such, items subject to the EAR…
Just before the holidays, President Biden signed two bills passed in the final days of the last Congress that contain a number of provisions with implications for sanctions, export controls, and supply chain restrictions: On December 23, 2022, President Biden signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) for Fiscal Year 2023 (P.L. 117-263). The measure includes a number of provisions relating to US export controls, sanctions, and related subjects, including additional sanctions targeting…