Syrian sanctions lifted by the UK, offering economic lifeline

The UK has removed Syrian sanctions on 24 entities giving the Syrian economy a lifeline. The UK has unfrozen assets of Syria’s central bank and 24 entities including oil companies and commercial lenders, according to the Financial Times.

This makes the UK the first in the west after the EU’s removal of sanctions in February to make a move of this kind since Ahmed al-Sharaa took over from Bashar al-Assad on January 29, 2025. This political change in the country offers a chance for Syria to move to a more positive economic situation following its new government and the damage caused by the civil war.

A spokesperson of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office on March 6 stated that the “approach underscores our commitment to help the people of Syria rebuild their country and economy”. The UK government has stated that they will continue to monitor the new government with the potential for further reduced sanctions should Sharaa take positive actions in rebuilding Syria.

The civil war began under the Assad regime in 2011 with the prolonged conflict damaging the country and its economy, with millions being displaced and critical infrastructure being destroyed.

According to Reuters, the economy has halved between 2010 and 2021, leaving the country in a drastic state economically alongside sanctions by the US and the West which have halted any outside investment in the country.

The sanctions which have been lifted by the government include the Central Bank of Syria, Arab airlines and energy companies. Whilst sanctions have been left in place for members of the Assad regime and others involved in illicit trade in captagon, the highly addictive amphetamine-type stimulant.

This is a positive development for the country and offers a chance for the new government to show the west that it can rebuild and potentially create a healthy relationship with major economic powers.

Yet the sanctions that have been lifted are not enough to completely turn around the economy. The US still holds sanctions which it placed on the old regime from 2011 onwards. The US specifically holds the power and potential to turn the Syrian economy around.

The US “government has intensely pursued calibrated sanctions to deprive the regime of the resources it needs”. This has been implemented with executive orders like order 13582 in August 2011, which blocks the property of the Government of Syria, provides additional authority for designating individuals and entities, prohibits new investments in Syria by the U.S.

The suppression on third parties and the embargo of investment into the country by the US is a major block to the Syrian economy. It will take these sanctions and others such as the EU’s to allow the Syrian economy to thrive and rebuild.

Further complications lie with the new government and its status as a terrorist group. The new government led by Sharaa is dominated by members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which evolved from Jabhat al-Nusra, which was formerly affiliated with al-Qaeda.

This has led them to be designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN and the US. This designation makes the situation increasingly hard for western countries to create formal relationships with the new government, with Sharaa himself being a member of the group.

Yet it appears that these conditions could allow the western countries the ability to use the sanctions as leverage to force the new government to implement reforms and distance themselves from extremist ideology.

With this leverage that the west holds and the new governments’ intentions to rebuild the Syrian economy and country, it looks like first removal of sanctions offers a hopeful future for the Syrian economy.

Financial Times, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Reuters, U.S Department of State