In a long-awaited moment for Syrian human rights advocates, US President Donald Trump signed the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, included as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020, into law on Dec. 20. First introduced in 2014, the law was the result of testimony given to Congress by a Syrian government defector codenamed Caesar, the law’s namesake. Caesar left Syria in 2013 with a trove of tens of thousands of photographs documenting mass torture and death in Syrian government prisons and has implored the US lawmakers to pass the law, which would punish the perpetrators of these crimes. 

The law is notable in that it aims to hold not only governments but also individuals responsible for financially supporting the Syrian regime, Russia or Iran in military activities, reconstruction efforts and human rights abuses in Syria, and opens the door for foreign business owners to face sanctions for any connections to the pro-Assad bloc.

According to experts, this wide net has the potential to impact certain elements of the business landscape of Lebanon in particular. Although Lebanon’s society and political landscape have long been divided on ties to their Syrian neighbor, connections do exist between firms and political institutions in Beirut and Damascus, and efforts toward participation in Syria’s post-war reconstruction have quickened in the past two years in Lebanon. Lebanon’s banks have been compliant with international sanctions regimes in the past, and experts said the threat of sanctions implemented as part of the Caesar Act might drive any business still working with the regime to divest from any current or planned connections. Yet according to other analysts, Lebanon’s continuing economic crisis and the presence of existing sanctions procedures mean the bill’s impact in Lebanon may be more limited than desired.

As a whole, Lebanon’s economy is closely intertwined with Syria’s private sector, which, according to Lebanese political and economic consultant Roy Badaro who spoke with Al-Monitor, is divided into two sections: one that is independent of the government, and one that is closely tied to it.