149 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 3 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
General News   

Western sanctions begin to ease on the Syrian people

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   No comments

Steven Sahiounie
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Steven Sahiounie
Become a Fan
  (2 fans)

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator

On January 27, the European Union took the first step to ease sanctions on Syria, while the process is contingent upon the progress made by the new leadership in Damascus, following the December 8 departure of President Assad.

The first restrictions likely to be eased concern the banking, energy, and transport sectors. They are considered essential to accelerating the war-torn country's reconstruction, strengthening stability, and normalizing financial relations with the EU, which remains Syria's biggest international donor.

On January 6, the US issued a six-month sanctions exemption for transactions with governing institutions in Syria to ease the flow of humanitarian assistance.

The US Treasury said the move sought "to help ensure that sanctions do not impede essential services and continuity of governance functions across Syria, including the provision of electricity, energy, water, and sanitation".

The US and EU placed severe sanctions on Syria to pressure the Syrian people to rise in desperation and overthrow the Assad regime. In the end, that never happened. It was the armed intervention by Turkey, in support of the armed Jihadists in Idlib, HTS, who swept through Aleppo, Hama, Homs, and Damascus in less than two weeks, and precipitated the fall of Assad, and his escape to Moscow.

Em George in Dahr Safra said, "I used to buy European medicines before the sanctions, but later I could not and my health suffered. I used to have home heating fuel each winter, but after the sanctions prevented importing fuels I was left in the bitter cold each winter."

Abo Abdo, a factory owner in Aleppo, said, "My fabric factory employs over 500 workers. I suffered from sanctions. My work lacked fuel to run the machines, electricity for lighting and machines, and I was prevented from exporting my products abroad."

In a paper written in 1998 by Richard N. Haass, "Economic Sanctions: Too Much of a Bad Thing", he exposed the failure of US sanctions aimed at big projects like regime change. Thus, all of the crippling sanctions on Syria and Iran have never produced any results. Haass proves that sanctions can only be effectively used on small projects where pressure is made to bear on a limited behavioral change by the government targeted.

Over the past 15 years, US and EU sanctions have significantly impacted Syria's economy, society, and political landscape.

Economic Impact

The Syrian pound (SYP) has drastically lost value due to sanctions, inflation, and economic instability. This has severely reduced purchasing power and resulted in currency devaluation.

Sanctions have limited Syria's ability to export oil and import essential goods, crippling key industries and causing shortages because of trade restrictions.

Foreign investment has dropped sharply due to sanctions, hindering economic recovery and leading to investment decline.

Sanctions on the Syrian banking sector have disrupted international transactions, complicating trade and financial operations. Importers of necessary goods were forced to use risky middlemen in the Arab Gulf to send money for shipments of goods. In some cases, this circuitous route for their payments ended with the money missing, and never delivered by unscrupulous middlemen.

Humanitarian Consequences

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Rate It | View Ratings

Steven Sahiounie Social Media Pages: Facebook Page       Twitter Page       Linked In Page       Instagram Page

I am Steven Sahiounie Syrian American award winning journalist and political commentator Living in Lattakia Syria and I am the chief editor of MidEastDiscours I have been reporting about Syria and the Middle East for about 8 years

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter

Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Free Syrian Army Sold Kayla Mueller to ISIS

Ukraine and its Nazis

Lebanese migrant boat sunk off Tripoli with 60 onboard

US proxy wars in Ukraine, Syria, and China may be next

Like Cuba in 1962, is Ukraine a chessboard for superpowers?

Palestine tensions may erupt in escalation

Comments

The time limit for entering new comments on this article has expired.

This limit can be removed. Our paid membership program is designed to give you many benefits, such as removing this time limit. To learn more, please click here.

No comments

 

Tell A Friend