US Congress advances bill to nix Caesar Act sanctions on Syria

The US has rolled back a series of restrictive economic sanctions put in place during the rule of Bashar al-Assad.Published On 11 Dec 2025The United States House of Representatives has voted forward a bill that would end the restrictive Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, originally imposed during the rule of former leader Bashar al-Assad.The bid to repeal the sanctions was passed on Wednesday as part of a larger defence spending package, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3‘I belong in my own country’: Syrians celebrate a year after al-Assadlist 2 of 3One year since the fall of Bashar al-Assad: A timelinelist 3 of 3Trump hosts Syria’s al-Sharaa at White House as US extends sanctions reliefend of list“With this NDAA, as many know, we are repealing sanctions on Syria that were placed there because of Bashar al-Assad and the torture of his people,” Representative Brian Mast of Florida said. “We’re giving Syria a chance to chart a post-Assad future.”Mast had previously been opposed to dropping the sanctions. In his statement on the House floor on Wednesday, he warned that, under the bill, the White House could “reimpose sanctions if the president views it necessary”.The bill now heads to the Senate and is expected to be voted on before the end of the year.If passed, the NDAA would repeal the 2019 Caesar Act, which sanctioned the Syrian government for war crimes during the country’s 13-year-long civil war.It would also require the White House to issue frequent reports confirming that Syria’s new government is combating Islamist fighters and upholding the rights of religious and ethnic minorities.Human rights advocates have welcomed the easing of heavy sanctions that the US and other Western countries imposed on Syria during the war.They argue that lifting those economic restrictions will aid Syria’s path towards economic recovery after years of devastation.