ITAR Defense Trade Policy Toward Syria

Current understanding

The State Department has revised the ITAR country policy for Syria so that license applications for exports and temporary imports of defense articles and defense services involving Syria are no longer subject to an automatic policy of denial. Applications will instead be reviewed on a case-by-case basis under standard ITAR criteria, aligning Syria with other countries not on the policy-of-denial list. The change is implemented as a final rule and is country-specific rather than a broader rewrite of U.S. defense-export controls.

Evidence log

• 2026-10-01 — International Traffic in Arms Regulations: Syria Country Policy Revision: cross-connection with syria-sanctions: ITAR licensing policy for Syria has been relaxed while the broader Syria IEEPA sanctions national emergency remains in force, creating divergent trajectories within the same country program. (novelty: 3)

Open questions

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