What an End to Sanctions Could Mean for Syria

President Trump's Tuesday announcement that he would lift US sanctions on Syria was greeted with jubilation in the streets of Damascus, with the AP reporting people "whistled and cheered the news as fireworks lit the night sky." Here's what you need to know about what the move could mean for the country:

• History: Syria was designated a state sponsor of terrorism in December 1979, which Middle East Eye reports put it in the same bucket as Iran and Cuba and put financial restrictions on things like US foreign aid; defense sales were banned. More sanctions came in the early 2000s. They reached their extreme in 2011 as the US responded to Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on protesters.
• Historic numbers: Middle East Eye reports "bilateral US-Syria trade, which still stood at roughly $900m in 2010, dropped below $60m in 2012."

• A decimated economy: The New York Times reports the sanctions "effectively cut Syria out of the international banking system and isolated it from the global economy, blocking money transfers, restricting imports, and barring activity by most international companies."
• A February report: The UN found that 25% of Syrians were unemployed and 90% lived in poverty. The report held a "stark warning," it noted: "At current growth rates, Syria's economy will not regain its pre-conflict GDP level before 2080. Annual economic growth must rise six-fold to shorten recovery to ten years, and an ambitious ten-fold rise would be needed over 15 years to bring the economy to where it would have been without conflict."
• 'Game changer': Those are the words the Times uses for what Trump's move could mean for Syria. It reports that countries that back Syria's new government, like Qatar and Saudi Arabia, would be able to send financial aid without fear of negative consequences; Syrians abroad could more easily send funds home; and "private companies from Turkey and elsewhere could seek contracts in construction and other sectors." Al Jazeera echoes that, noting, "Whether the US itself invests in Syria remains to be seen, but increased Arab and Turkish investment is likely."
• Mechanics: The Times notes that Trump has the power to lift some of the sanctions, but Congress will need to have a hand in removing others.

(More Syria stories.)