Executive Order 14312: Providing for the Revocation of Syria Sanctions

What does Executive Order 14312 do?

Effective July 1, 2025, the order ended the comprehensive Syria sanctions program and unblocked persons designated solely under the revoked authorities. OFAC removed 31 CFR part 542 in August 2025. Targeted sanctions remained for Bashar al-Assad and associates, human-rights abusers, Captagon traffickers, terrorists and other actors under separate or amended authorities.

Reading the operative provisions of Executive Order 14312

EO 14312 revoked six earlier executive orders that formed the basis for broad Syria sanctions and ended the associated national emergency. It also preserved targeted sanctions against persons or activities that remain covered by other authorities. The Federal Register text of EO 14312 is therefore a change to the sanctions framework, not a statement that every restriction on Syria or Syrian actors disappeared.

The order directs Treasury and State to implement the changes and maintain sanctions aimed at specified destabilizing conduct, terrorism or human-rights abuses under separate authorities. Sanctions programs can involve asset blocking, transaction prohibitions, export controls and visa restrictions, which are administered through different legal instruments. A business or person must check the current Treasury and State lists and applicable regulations rather than rely on a general description of “Syria sanctions.”

Revoking the prior emergency changes the basis for certain country-wide measures, while targeted sanctions may continue under other statutes and executive orders. Licenses, wind-down periods and exceptions can further affect a transaction. The order’s status as “In effect” means its revocation and transition instructions remain relevant; it does not mean that a single blanket sanctions regime continues unchanged. For a specific transaction, current OFAC regulations and determinations control.