To review banking restrictions, strengthen anti-money laundering capacity, and update sanctions with respect to the Government of Syria, and for other purposes.
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Lawler introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill modifies U.S. sanctions policy toward Syria in the wake of the Assad regime's fall. It creates a framework for conditional sanctions relief, requiring Syria to meet specific human rights and governance benchmarks. The bill also directs U.S. engagement with international financial institutions to support Syria's economic transition.
Who Benefits and How
- The Syrian government and people: Can access sanctions relief if human rights conditions are met
- International financial institutions (IMF, World Bank): Directed to engage with Syria on economic monitoring and technical assistance
- Export-Import Bank: Authorized to review and potentially lift country limitations on Syria
- U.S. foreign policy interests: Establishes clear benchmarks for engagement with post-Assad Syria
Who Bears the Burden and How
- The Syrian government: Must demonstrate compliance with 8 human rights conditions to qualify for permanent sanctions relief, including ending civilian targeting, releasing political prisoners, and combating Captagon trafficking
- Religious minorities in Syria: Bill establishes protections requiring Syrian government to not target or detain them
- Assad regime actors: Existing sanctions remain in effect against those involved in human rights abuses
Key Provisions
- Section 2: Requires FinCEN to evaluate impact of banking relief for Commercial Bank of Syria
- Section 3: Directs Treasury to use U.S. voice at IMF and World Bank to support Syria's economic monitoring and anti-money laundering technical assistance
- Section 4: Requires Export-Import Bank to review country limitations on Syria
- Section 5: Modifies Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act to remove 180-day renewal requirements for sanctions waivers, adds new conditions on Captagon and religious minorities, and sets December 31, 2029 sunset
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Reviews and updates U.S. sanctions policy toward Syria following the fall of the Assad regime, creating pathways for sanctions relief conditional on Syria meeting human rights, anti-drug trafficking, and governance requirements while strengthening international financial institution engagement.
Policy Domains
Syria Sanctions Accountability Act of 2025
Likely Beneficiaries
- Syrian transitional government
- Syrian civilians seeking humanitarian access
- International financial institutions
- U.S. financial sector (clarity on Syria transactions)
- Export-Import Bank financing recipients
Likely Burden Bearers
- Syrian government (compliance obligations)
- Assad regime actors (continued sanctions)
- Captagon traffickers (new condition)
- Those targeting religious minorities (new condition)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_chairman"
- → Chairman of Export-Import Bank
- "the_director"
- → Director of Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
- "the_president"
- → President of the United States
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Treasury
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology