Khaberni - U.S. President Donald Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act, which includes the largest annual budget for the Department of War in U.S. history, exceeding 900 billion dollars, and the repeal of the Caesar law which imposed sanctions on Syria since 2019.
President Trump signed the new law after Congress ratified it, away from media cameras, contrary to what had been previously announced.
The law sets the defense priorities of the United States and requires the White House to submit periodic reports to Congress for four years confirming the ongoing efforts of the Syrian government in combating terrorism and drugs, protecting minorities, and seeking peace with neighboring countries.
The law provides that the U.S. President shall impose specific sanctions on Syria if the report is negative for two consecutive periods.
Multiple Phases
The U.S. Senate voted on Wednesday in favor of the 2026 War Department budget law, which includes a provision for repealing the sanctions imposed on Syria under the "Caesar Act," and referred the law to President Donald Trump for signing to become effective.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved last week the repeal of the Caesar Act that had imposed U.S. sanctions on Syria, and the Syrian government welcomed this step, stating that it would restore recovery to the Syrian economy.
It is expected that the repeal of the law will pave the way for the return of foreign investments and assistance to support the Syrian government led by President Ahmad al-Shar.
The U.S. sanctions were a major obstacle to the revival of the Syrian economy and the lifting of them is considered evidence of the success of the new Syrian government.
The "Caesar Act" was passed in December 2019 to punish high-ranking members of the Syrian regime for war crimes against civilians and imposed extensive sanctions targeting individuals, companies, and institutions associated with the ousted regime of President Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown in 2024 and fled to Russia.
