[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 126 (Thursday, July 3, 2025)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 29395-29399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-12506]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 126 / Thursday, July 3, 2025 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 29395]]
Executive Order 14312 of June 30, 2025
Providing for the Revocation of Syria Sanctions
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, including the International Emergency Economic
Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the National
Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), the
Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty
Restoration Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-175) (Syria
Accountability Act), the Chemical and Biological
Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991
(Public Law 102-182, title III) (CBW Act), the Caesar
Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019, as amended (22
U.S.C. 8791 note) (Caesar Act), the Illicit Captagon
Trafficking Suppression Act of 2023 (Public Law 118-50,
div. P), and section 301 of title 3, United States
Code, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Background. The United States is committed
to supporting a Syria that is stable, unified, and at
peace with itself and its neighbors. A united Syria
that does not offer a safe haven for terrorist
organizations and ensures the security of its religious
and ethnic minorities will support regional security
and prosperity. The Secretary of State and the
Secretary of the Treasury have taken initial steps
towards this goal through the issuance on May 23, 2025,
of General License 25 and a waiver of sanctions under
the Caesar Act.
Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States
to recognize that circumstances that gave rise to the
actions taken in the Executive Orders described in
section 3(a) of this order, related to the policies and
actions of the former regime of Bashar al-Assad, have
been transformed by developments over the past 6
months, including the positive actions taken by the new
Syrian government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa. This
order supports United States national security and
foreign policy goals by directing additional actions,
including the removal of sanctions on Syria, the
issuance of waivers that permit the relaxation of
export controls and other restrictions on Syria, and
other actions to be taken by the Secretary of State,
the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of
Commerce, as well as by other executive departments and
agencies (agencies) of the United States, without
providing relief to ISIS or other terrorist
organizations, human rights abusers, those linked to
chemical weapons or proliferation-related activities,
or other persons that threaten the peace, security, or
stability of the United States, Syria, and its
neighbors.
Sec. 3. Revocation of Syria Sanctions. (a) Effective
July 1, 2025, I hereby terminate the national emergency
declared in Executive Order 13338 of May 11, 2004
(Blocking Property of Certain Persons and Prohibiting
the Export of Certain Goods to Syria), and revoke that
order, as well as Executive Order 13399 of April 25,
2006 (Blocking Property of Additional Persons in
Connection With the National Emergency With Respect to
Syria), Executive Order 13460 of February 13, 2008
(Blocking Property of Additional Persons in Connection
With the National Emergency With Respect to Syria),
Executive Order 13572 of April 29, 2011 (Blocking
Property of Certain Persons with Respect to Human
Rights Abuses in Syria), Executive Order 13573 of May
18, 2011 (Blocking Property of Senior Officials of the
Government of Syria), and Executive Order 13582 of
August 17, 2011 (Blocking Property of the Government of
Syria and Prohibiting Certain Transactions with Respect
to Syria).
[[Page 29396]]
(b) Pursuant to section 202(a) of the NEA (50
U.S.C. 1622(a)), termination of the national emergency
declared in Executive Order 13338, as modified in scope
and relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive
Order 13399, Executive Order 13460, Executive Order
13572, Executive Order 13573, and Executive Order 13582
shall not affect any action taken or pending proceeding
not finally concluded or determined as of July 1, 2025,
any action or proceeding based on any act committed
prior to July 1, 2025, or any rights or duties that
matured or penalties that were incurred prior to July
1, 2025.
Sec. 4. Accountability for the Former Regime of Bashar
al-Assad. I find that additional steps must be taken to
ensure meaningful accountability for perpetrators of
war crimes, human rights violations and abuses, and the
proliferation of narcotics trafficking networks in and
in relation to Syria during the former regime of Bashar
al-Assad and by those associated with it. Perpetrators
of such actions threaten to undermine peace, security,
and stability in the region, and thereby constitute an
unusual and extraordinary threat to the national
security and foreign policy of the United States.
(a) I hereby expand the scope of the national
emergency declared in Executive Order 13894 of October
14, 2019 (Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of
Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in
Syria), as amended in and relied on for additional
steps taken in Executive Order 14142 of January 15,
2025 (Taking Additional Steps With Respect to the
Situation in Syria), to deal with that threat, and
accordingly further amend Executive Order 13894 by:
(i) striking section 1(a) and inserting, in lieu thereof, the following:
``Section 1. (a) All property and interests in property
that are in the United States, that hereafter come
within the United States, or that are or hereafter come
within the possession or control of any United States
person of the following persons are blocked and may not
be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise
dealt in:
(i) any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation
with the Secretary of State:
(A) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have directly or
indirectly engaged in, or attempted to engage in, any of the following in
or in relation to Syria:
(1) actions or policies that further threaten the peace, security,
stability, or territorial integrity of Syria; or
(2) the commission of serious human rights abuse;
(B) to be a former government official of the former regime of Bashar al-
Assad or a person who acted for or on behalf of such an official;
(C) to have engaged in, or attempted to engage in, activities or
transactions that have materially contributed to, or pose a significant
risk of materially contributing to, the illicit production and
international illicit proliferation of captagon;
(D) to be responsible for or complicit in, to have directly or indirectly
engaged in, or to be responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise
directing, instances in which a United States national ((i) as defined in 8
U.S.C. 1101(a)(22) or 8 U.S.C. 1408, or (ii) a lawful permanent resident
with significant ties to the United States) went missing in Syria during
the former regime of Bashar al-Assad;
(E) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial,
material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in
support of:
(1) the former regime of Bashar al-Assad;
(2) any activity described in subsections (a)(i)(A)-(a)(i)(D) of this
section; or
(3) any person whose property and interests in property are blocked
pursuant to this order;
(F) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act
for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and
interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; or
[[Page 29397]]
(G) to be an adult family member of a person designated under subsections
(a)(i)(A)-(a)(i)(D) of this section.''; and
(ii) striking section 2(a) and inserting, in lieu thereof, the following:
``Sec. 2. (a) The Secretary of State, in consultation
with the Secretary of the Treasury and other officials
of the United States Government as appropriate, is
hereby authorized to impose on a foreign person any of
the sanctions described in subsections (b) and (c) of
this section, upon determining that the person, on or
after the date of this order:
(i) is responsible for or complicit in, has directly or indirectly engaged
in, or attempted to engage in, or financed the obstruction, disruption, or
prevention of efforts to promote a Syria that is stable, unified, and at
peace with itself and its neighbors, including:
(A) the convening and conduct of a credible and inclusive Syrian-led
constitutional process;
(B) the preparation for and conduct of supervised elections, pursuant to
the new constitution, that are free and fair and to the highest
international standards of transparency and accountability; or
(C) the development of a Syrian government that is representative and
reflects the will of the Syrian people;
(ii) is an adult family member of a person designated under subsection
(a)(i) of this section; or
(iii) is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly
engaged in, or attempted to engage in, the expropriation of property,
including real property, for personal gain or political purposes in
Syria.''
(b) I additionally amend Executive Order 13606 of
April 22, 2012 (Blocking the Property and Suspending
Entry into the United States of Certain Persons With
Respect to Grave Human Rights Abuses by the Governments
of Iran and Syria Via Information Technology), by
removing the following text from the preamble:
``Executive Order 13338 of May 11, 2004, as modified in
scope and relied upon for additional steps in
subsequent Executive Orders'' and replacing it with:
``Executive Order 13894 of October 14, 2019, and relied
upon for additional steps and further amended in
subsequent Executive Orders.''
Sec. 5. Caesar Act. The Secretary of State, in
consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall
examine whether the criteria set forth in section
7431(a) of the Caesar Act have been met, and on the
basis of that examination may, pursuant to the
Presidential Memorandum of March 31, 2020 (Delegation
of Certain Functions and Authorities Under the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020),
suspend in whole or in part the imposition of sanctions
otherwise required under the Caesar Act. If the
Secretary of State determines to suspend in whole or in
part the imposition of such sanctions, the Secretary of
State, in consultation with the Secretary of the
Treasury, shall provide the briefing to the appropriate
congressional committees required by section 7431(b) of
the Caesar Act within 30 days of such determination.
Further, the Secretary of State, in consultation with
the Secretary of the Treasury, shall continue to review
the situation in Syria, and if the Secretary of State,
in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury,
determines that the criteria set forth in section
7431(a) are no longer met, the Secretary of State shall
reimpose sanctions.
Sec. 6. Syria Accountability Act. I hereby determine
pursuant to section 5(b) of the Syria Accountability
Act that it is in the national security interest of the
United States to waive the application of subsection
(a)(1), with respect to items on the Commerce Control
List (supp. No. 1 to 15 C.F.R. part 774) only, and
subsection (a)(2)(A) of the Syria Accountability Act
only. The Secretary of State shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees the report
required under section 5(b) of that Act.
Sec. 7. CBW Act. (a) Pursuant to section 307(d)(1)(B)
of the CBW Act, I hereby determine and certify that
there has been a fundamental change
[[Page 29398]]
in the leadership and policies of the Government of the
Syrian Arab Republic. Accordingly, I hereby waive the
following sanctions imposed on Syria for the prior use
of chemical weapons under the former regime of Bashar
al-Assad:
(i) the restriction on foreign assistance under section 307(a)(1) of the
CBW Act;
(ii) the restriction on United States Government credit, credit guarantees,
or other financial assistance under section 307(a)(4) of the CBW Act;
(iii) the restrictions on the export of national security-sensitive goods
and technology under section 307(a)(5) of the CBW Act and on all other
goods and technology under section 307(b)(2)(C) of the CBW Act; and
(iv) the restriction on United States banks from making any loan or
providing any credit to the Government of Syria under section 307(b)(2)(B)
of the CBW Act.
(b) The Secretary of State shall transmit this
waiver determination and report as required by sections
307(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the CBW Act to the
appropriate congressional committees. This waiver shall
be effective 20 days after it has been so transmitted.
Sec. 8. Counterterrorism Designations. (a) The
Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary
of the Treasury and the Attorney General, shall take
all appropriate action with respect to the designation
of al-Nusrah Front, also known as Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham
and other aliases, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization
under 8 U.S.C. 1189 and as a Specially Designated
Global Terrorist under 50 U.S.C. 1702 and Executive
Order 13224, as well as the designation of Abu Muhammad
al-Jawlani, commonly known as Ahmed al-Sharaa, as a
Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
(b) The Secretary of State shall take all
appropriate action to review the designation of Syria
as a State Sponsor of Terrorism consistent with section
1754(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232; 50 U.S.C.
4813(c)), section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act
(Public Law 90-629, as amended; 22 U.S.C. 2780), and
section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
(Public Law 87-195, as amended; 22 U.S.C. 2371).
Sec. 9. United Nations. The Secretary of State shall
take appropriate steps to advance United States policy
objectives at the United Nations to support a Syria
that is stable and at peace and to support Syrian
efforts to counter terrorism and comply with its
responsibilities and obligations concerning weapons of
mass destruction, including chemical and biological
weapons. The Secretary of State is further directed to
explore avenues at the United Nations to provide
sanctions relief in support of these objectives.
Sec. 10. Implementation. The Secretary of State, the
Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of
Commerce, as appropriate, are hereby authorized to take
such actions, including adopting rules and regulations,
as may be necessary to implement this order. The
Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and
the Secretary of Commerce may, consistent with
applicable law, redelegate any of these functions
within their respective agencies. The Secretary of
State, in consultation with the Secretary of the
Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary
of Transportation, as appropriate, is authorized to
exercise the functions and authorities conferred upon
the President in section 5 of the Syria Accountability
Act and to redelegate these functions and authorities
consistent with applicable law. All agencies of the
United States shall take all appropriate measures
within their authority to implement this order,
consistent with applicable law.
Sec. 11. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
[[Page 29399]]
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(d) The costs for publication of this order shall
be borne by the Department of State.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
June 30, 2025.
[FR Doc. 2025-12506
Filed 7-2-25; 8:45 am]
Billing code 4710-10-P