The loyalist economic researcher, Ammar Youssef, denied that the cause of the suffering of Syrians and the high prices are a result of the Caesar Act.
According to Youssef, “all the sanctions imposed on Syria — meaning the regime — by the Caesar Act and others do not include three things — which are heating fuel, foodstuffs, and medicine. Anything else that is being said is a lie in which we live as Syrians.”
Youssef linked the high prices to the greed of the merchants, the monopoly, and the impotence of the regime’s government, describing the situation as an “internal tsar situation.”
Youssef is promoting a solution to this situation by inviting the Bahar al-Assad government to borrow money from other countries, without specifying those countries.
Rima al-Kateb, an economic analyst, believes that those statements appear to be a prologue to flood the country with foreign debt, and thus link the fate of its political decision to other forces, more precisely the Russian or Iranian occupiers, or even the Chinese ally of Assad.
She added, “this comes after the people in the regime-held areas are not convinced of the lies of the Caesar Act.”
“The Syrian government can, through several procedures, borrow money from another country in order to buy food, heating fuel, or medicine, and these sums may reach one billion dollars and more, provided that only the permissible things are bought and the money is not used to buy the iPhone 12,” as Youssef put it.
The US Department of the Treasury had issued a clarification on its official website, confirming that the export of American foodstuffs and others as well as most medicines to Syria is not prohibited under the Caesar Act.
The Department confirmed that exporting or re-exporting some non-American foods and most medicines to Syria is permitted for Americans who usually provide these services, and they do not require a specific license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and therefore non-US persons who deal with them will not be subject to penalties under the Caesar Act.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
