US says it will increase sanctions on Syria

 (June16)On Wednesday new US sanctions on Syria are set to come into effect. The increased sanctions come as the nation is still struggling to rebuild after being shattered by a nine-year civil war.

Existing US sanctions already impede rebuilding efforts

The existing US sanctions have frozen the assets of the Syrian state and also hundreds of companies and individuals. The US bans export and investment in Syria by Americans, and transactions that involve oil or hydrocarbon products. The sanctions are allowed under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, which was incorporated into the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.

The new sanctions

The new sanctions give US President Donald Trump wider powers to freeze assets of anyone who deals with Syria regardless of their nationality, and the sanctions cover many more sectors ranging from construction to energy.

The new sanctions will also target those dealing with Russian or Iranian entities in Syria. This will cause many investors to not invest in Syria because of the risks involved.

Negative effects

Just the prospect of the sanctions have also caused some investors in reconstruction to pull out of Syria. This is a prime cause of the collapse of the value of Syrian currency. Lebanon and Jordan important regional neighbors are discouraged from investing in Syrian reconstruction since they fear they will be targeted by the US.

Complaints about the new sanctions

Even US Kurdish allies in the northeast of Syria worry about the effects of the new sanction. An official from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) told the Voice of America that the sanctions could also impede their ability to fight the Islamic Sate (ISIS) and said: . “As Caesar sanctions are about to go into effect, the status of northeastern Syria must be taken into consideration especially when these sanctions might affect the battle to fight with ISIS."

In the US a group of Syrian-Americans in Allentown Pennsylvania demonstrated in opposition to the new sanctions. Bashar Hajal of Allentown said: “When you try to destroy the economy of a country, it affects the people. It’s a contradiction if the main purpose of the Caesar Act is to protect civilians. It’s our homeland. And seeing it collapse like this is just devastating. We cannot stand by.”

Previously published in the Digital Journal