# 2026-18918: U.S. lifts Syria sanctions: Arms sales OK after chem weapons waiver?

2026-18918, Waiver of Sanctions on Syria Under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991, is a Federal Register notice from State Department published 2026-09-16, effective 2026-09-16 (as of 2026-09-23).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-18918
- As of: 2026-09-23
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2026-18918
- Title: Waiver of Sanctions on Syria Under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991
- Type: Notice
- Agencies: State Department
- Citation: 91 FR 58740
- Published: 2026-09-16
- Effective: 2026-09-16
- Comments close: not stated
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: no
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-09-23

## In one line

U.S. lifts Syria sanctions: Arms sales OK after chem weapons waiver?

## Summary

The U.S. government has officially lifted almost all sanctions on Syria, including arms sales and military financing bans, because of big changes in Syria’s leadership and policies. This change, effective September 16, 2026, means Syria can now access U.S. defense items and funding again, signaling a major shift in U.S.-Syria relations. It’s a big deal for national security and could impact future money and trade between the two countries.

## Abstract

On June 30, 2025, the President determined pursuant to section 307(d)(1)(B) of the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (the Act), 22 U.S.C. 5605(d)(1)(B), that there has been a fundamental change in the leadership and policies of the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic and decided to waive all of the sanctions imposed on Syria over the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons against his own people except the restriction on arms sales and arms sales financing. On August 20, 2026, The Under Secretary for Arms Control and Nonproliferation determined that it was essential to the national security of the United States to waive these two remaining restrictions.

## Effects PRIA read

No economic effects identified for this document.

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## Sources
- [2026-18918 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/16/2026-18918/waiver-of-sanctions-on-syria-under-the-chemical-and-biological-weapons-control-and-warfare)
- [2026-18918 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-09-16/pdf/2026-18918.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2026-18917, Hazardous Materials: Notice of Actions on Special Permits](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-18917)
- [Next: 2026-18919, Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-18919)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-18918 (as of 2026-09-23).