Washington – Republican Congressman Joe Wilson on Wednesday introduced a new bill in the U.S. Congress seeking to repeal the “Caesar Act” sanctions imposed on Syria.
According to The Hill, Wilson submitted an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – the annual defense budget legislation that must be passed by Congress by the end of the year.
“I’m trying to use every mechanism to repeal this law as soon as possible,” Wilson told the newspaper. “As the Caesar law was passed and extended through the National Defense Authorization Act, I am hopeful that the repeal could also move through the same vehicle.”
Wilson emphasized that unless the law is repealed, “investors will not take the risks required for long term investment in Syria which will be necessary to Make Syria Great Again.”
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Last May, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a 180-day suspension of Caesar Act sanctions, following an order by President Donald Trump to lift sanctions on Syria.
On June 30, Trump signed an executive order officially lifting the sanctions, Axios reported.
U.S. officials said the Syrian government had “taken significant steps toward greater stability,” prompting Washington to end the national emergency regarding Syria first declared in 2004.
The decision also includes a possible review of Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism and directs the State Department to revisit the classification of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham – an Islamist group originally formed by Al-Jolani (Syria’s current president Ahmad Al-Sharaa) as Jabhat al-Nusra, an Al-Qaeda affiliate.
The White House confirmed that the order, which takes effect this Tuesday, keeps sanctions in place on former president Bashar al-Assad, his aides, human rights violators, ISIS, Iranian proxies, and anyone linked to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
The executive order also relaxes some export controls on certain goods and grants specific exemptions for foreign aid restrictions on Syria. It further directs the State Department to explore ways to ease sanctions through the UN to support the stabilization process.
President Trump said the U.S. remains committed to supporting “Syria that is stable, unified, and at peace with itself and its neighbors”, stressing that “A united Syria that does not offer a haven for terrorist organizations and ensures the security of its religious and ethnic minorities will support regional security and prosperity.”
