The pace of U.S. regulatory changes regarding Syria continues to increase. Building on our previous posts (“Syria-ous Changes for Middle East Business?” and “Unpacking the U-Turn: What the Syria Sanctions Repeal Really...more
After a three month wait, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has finally caught up with the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in relaxing restrictions...more
Key Takeaways: The Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) has issued a final rule significantly relaxing export controls on Syria under the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”), in line with Executive Order 14312, which...more
On September 2, 2025, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) issued its widely anticipated Final Rule “Relaxing Export Controls for Syria” (the “BIS Rule”) that substantially eases export...more
On August 28, 2025, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a final rule relaxing export controls on Syria in response to the June 30, 2025 Executive Order (EO) 14312 “Providing for the...more
Each quarter, I send my clients a trade compliance update, highlighting important developments over the last few months and summarizing key points for important sanctions programs. In addition to a variety of ad hoc...more
Key Takeaways: - Executive Order 14312 revokes the six executive orders that formed the foundation of the Syrian Sanctions Program, terminates the national emergency underlying those executive orders and waives and relaxes...more
Building on prior relief of sanctions and other restrictive trade measures earlier this year (as described in K2 Integrity alerts dated 15 May and 09 June 2025), on 30 June 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a new...more
President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order (the EO) on June 30, 2025, terminating the U.S. government's Syria sanctions program and directing other actions that, if finalized, will revoke the vast majority of U.S. trade...more
President Trump continued his flurry of sanctions actions with the recent revocation of the Syrian sanctions program. On June 30, 2025, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order (“EO”) 14312 “Providing for the Revocation...more
Pursuant to a sweeping new executive order (EO) issued on June 30, 2025, the Trump administration has lifted virtually all U.S. sanctions targeting Syria, shuttered the Syria sanctions program administered by the Office of...more
On June 30, 2025, the White House issued Executive Order 14312, Providing for the Revocation of Syria Sanctions (the Syria EO), terminating U.S. comprehensive sanctions on Syria effective July 1, 2025. ...more
After the fall of the former regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, the Presidential Administration has taken steps to formally dismantle the U.S.’s two-decade-long comprehensive trade restrictions on Syria. These steps began...more
On June 30, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order (EO) that, effective July 1, revokes the U.S. sanctions program on Syria, and calls for the removal of the Syrian Sanctions Regulations from the Code of Federal...more
On June 30, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) implemented the President’s Executive Order “Providing for the Revocation of Syria Sanctions,” (Syria EO) which removes U.S. sanctions on...more
On May 23, 2025, General License 25 (“GL 25” or the “General License”) was issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), suspending a wide array of sanctions against Syria....more
On May 23, 2025, 10 days after President Trump announced his directive to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria during his visit to Saudia Arabia last month, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control...more
General License (GL) 25 authorizes transactions previously prohibited by various regulations. Specifically, Section (a) broadly authorizes activities previously prohibited under the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC)’s...more
On May 23, 2025, the Trump administration issued a general license (GL) significantly relaxing the patchwork of restrictions on Syria, long a jurisdiction subject to comprehensive sanctions. This regulatory action followed a...more
Following an announcement by President Donald Trump on May 13, 2025, that he would order the cessation of US sanctions against Syria, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General...more
On May 23, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued Syria General License (GL) 25, “Authorizing Transactions Prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions Regulations or Involving Certain...more
On May 23, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued General License No. 25 (“GL 25”) authorizing certain transactions involving Syria and a specified list of blocked...more
On May 23, 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced several actions to provide sanctions relief to Syria. OFAC is the primary government agency responsible for administering U.S....more
Following the fall of Syria’s Assad regime, the United States and key allies have recently announced sanctions relief with the stated goal of stabilizing Syria under its newly installed leaders. ...more
Less than two weeks after President Donald Trump announced that his administration would lift U.S. sanctions on Syria, the U.S. Departments of the Treasury and State took significant first steps to provide the anticipated...more