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Congress hurdle cleared
The expiration of a 45-day U.S. congressional review period on Saturday cleared a key procedural hurdle to removing Syria from Washington’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, a Syrian official said.
“the expiration of a 45-day US congressional review period on Saturday cleared a key procedural hurdle”
Jihad Makdissi, an adviser on US affairs at the Syrian Foreign Ministry, said the end of the review completed the congressional stage but did not automatically remove Syria’s designation, and that Washington could now move to a final executive step.
Makdissi said the final step requires a formal decision by the U.S. secretary of state and publication in the Federal Register, while the Syrian Arab News Agency said Trump handed Ahmad al-Sharaa a formal letter informing him that Congress had been notified of the decision.
The process began when Trump informed Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on July 8 during the NATO summit in Ankara of his decision to cancel Syria’s designation, with Congress to conduct a 45-day review to complete the decision and make it final.
Makdissi said the change could ease restrictions linked to the terrorism designation and send a positive signal to international financial institutions, companies and governments, while he cautioned that other restrictions on Syria remain subject to separate legal processes.
Rubio publication next
Syrian Foreign Ministry adviser for American affairs Jihad Makdessi said that with the end of the deadline, the legal phase designated for Congress review has been completed, but that the expiry does not automatically erase the designation at that exact moment.
In a post on X, Makdessi said, "Legally, the end of the deadline does not automatically erase the designation at that exact moment," while he added that it enables the American administration to move to the final execution step.
The Syrian News Agency quoted its Washington correspondent as saying that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will publish the decision to remove Syria’s name from the state sponsors of terrorism list in the Federal Register and on the U.S. State Department website.
Bashar Barbendi, a researcher, told the Syrian News Agency that the administration "did not send a memo to Congress seeking its opinion on lifting sanctions on Syria, but informed it that sanctions would be lifted within 45 days if there were no objections."
Barbendi said Congress objections did not occur and that no official statement from Congress members expressing objections to lifting the sanctions or requesting a grace period was issued.
Economic and banking stakes
Syrian officials and economic voices tied the procedural change to potential economic and financial impacts, with Makdessi saying removing the designation would lift related restrictions and send a positive signal to global financial institutions, companies, and countries.
“send a positive signal to global financial institutions, companies, and countries”
Alaa Muhammad, an economic and financial expert, said in a statement to Syria Now that removing the designation would remove the political and legal ban that stood in the way of wide-ranging support, grants, investment, and commercial and financial dealings with Syria, including some exports and dual-use goods.
Muhammad added that in the banking sector, removing the designation would send an important signal to American, European, and international banks that Syria is no longer listed among the targeted or highly conservative countries in dealing with it, which could ease risk assessment and compliance concerns in global banks.
The Islam Times report, citing a Sanctions Age piece by Rachel Albert, said lifting Syria’s designation would lessen barriers to financial flows and facilitate further easing of export-control restrictions, while it also described changes to export controls under the Export Administration Act.
It said the next phase after delisting would require BIS to publish a regulatory amendment to the Export Administration Regulations, and that exports to Syria would no longer be subject to strict anti-terrorism controls.