Senator Warren and Representative Wilson Send Bipartisan Letter Pressing Trump Administration to Follow Through on Syria Sanctions Relief and Export Controls
“Although President Trump has said he ‘will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria,’ we have not yet been briefed by the Administration or provided concrete details about what that means in practice.”
“Every day that goes by without these reforms threatens our strategic interests and makes it more difficult for Syria to rebuild after decades of oppression.”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC-02), Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, pressing the Trump Administration to follow through on its stated commitment to update Syria sanctions and to ensure responsible updates to export control enforcement.
“For the past two months, we have urged the Administration to update the broad and outdated Syria sanctions that are undercutting U.S. interests and unnecessarily harming the Syrian people,” wrote the lawmakers. “We have laid out concrete steps the Administration should take — or risk walking away from an opportunity to promote stability in the region and help the Syrian people build a better life after years of living under the thumb of the brutal Assad regime.”
Last week, during his Trip to the Middle East, President Donald Trump announced he would “be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness.” But despite repeated requests, the lawmakers emphasized that Congress has not been briefed on the Administration’s plans or how the President’s comments will translate into actual policy.
“(W)e have not yet been briefed by the Administration or provided concrete details about what that means in practice,” the lawmakers emphasized.
Earlier this year Senator Warren and Representative Wilson sent a letter to Secretary Rubio and Secretary Bessent – and a follow-up letter to Secretary Rubio – laying out clear steps the State Department and Treasury Department should take to revise U.S. sanctions on Syria following the collapse of the Assad regime. In this latest letter, the lawmakers broadened their oversight to include Commerce Secretary Lutnick, emphasizing that export controls must be part of any serious reform effort.
“Failing to address export controls along with sanctions relief would likely open the door for China, Russia, and Iran to drive Syria's reconstruction,” wrote the lawmakers. “It is critically important that we update our approach in Syria quickly. Every day that goes by without these reforms threatens our strategic interests and makes it more difficult for Syria to rebuild after decades of oppression.”
###
Next Article Previous Article