SEC. 205. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
Section 7402 of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection 
Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C. 8791 note) is amended is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 7402. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
‘‘It is the policy of the United States— 
‘‘(1) to support the Syrian people in their ef-
forts to remove the regime of Bashar al-Assad from 
power and bring about a transition to a free and 
democratic government in Syria existing in peace 
and security with its neighbors; 
‘‘(2) that all diplomatic and coercive economic 
means must be utilized to compel the al-Assad re-
gime to immediately halt the wholesale slaughter of 
the Syrian people; 
‘‘(3) to support the human rights of all Syrians, 
including women and ethnic and religious minorities, 
to live in peace and dignity in a free and democratic 
Syria; 
‘‘(4) that political negotiations regarding the fu-
ture of Syria or its constitution, including the con-
stitutional committee, must be preceded by an en-
during national ceasefire in Syria; 
‘‘(5) that safe zones and no-fly zones should be 
established to protect Syrian civilians in Idlib prov-
ince from aerial bombardment by the al-Assad re-
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gime and the Russian Federation, and to help stem 
the refugee crisis by allowing Syrian civilians to stay 
in their homes, and making it easier for Syrian refu-
gees to return home; 
‘‘(6) to work toward the withdrawal of all for-
eign forces in Syria; 
‘‘(7) to reject working with Russia to eject Ira-
nian forces in Syria; and 
‘‘(8) to end any taxpayer-funded humanitarian 
assistance to Syria which is diverted by the al-Assad 
regime to fund its war crimes.’’. 
SEC. 206. PROHIBITION AGAINST UNITED STATES RECOGNI-
TION OF THE AL-ASSAD REGIME IN SYRIA. 
(a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 
United States not to recognize any Syrian government led 
by Bashar al-Assad or the legitimacy of Bashar al-Assad 
to be President of Syria or ever participate in any future 
election in Syria or in any Syrian government. 
(b) PROHIBITION.—In accordance with subsection 
(a), no Federal department or agency may take any action 
or extend any assistance that implies recognition of 
Bashar al-Assad or any Syrian government led by Bashar 
al-Assad, or which supports the participation of Bashar 
al-Assad in any future election in Syria. 
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SEC. 207. REPORT ON EFFECT OF LIFTING IRAN SANC-
TIONS ON WAR CRIMES IN SYRIA. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) the maximum pressure campaign carried 
out by the United States against Iran has reduced 
the resources available for Iran and the al-Assad re-
gime to carry out war crimes in Syria; and 
(2) a condition for the lifting of the sanctions 
that are a part of such maximum pressure campaign 
should continue to include the demand that Iran 
ceases its destabilizing activities in Syria and with-
draws all of its forces and commanded militias from 
the country. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 
consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall sub-
mit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 
on— 
(1) the status of United States bilateral sanc-
tions on Iran; 
(2) the reimposition and renewed enforcement 
of secondary sanctions on Iran; 
(3) the impact such sanctions have had on 
Iran’s support to the al-Assad regime in Syria; 
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(4) the impact that lifting such sanctions would 
have on Iran’s ability to commit human rights 
abuses against the people of Syria, including 
through a detailed description of whether or not lift-
ing such sanctions would increase the resources 
available for Iran to support gross human rights 
abuses, including torture, extrajudicial killings, and 
the killing of protesters in Syria; and 
(5) the impact that lifting such sanctions would 
have on the funds available for the al-Assad regime 
to commit gross human rights abuses. 
SEC. 208. CERTIFICATION REGARDING HUMANITARIAN AID 
PROVIDED TO AREAS IN SYRIA HELD BY THE 
AL-ASSAD REGIME. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 
shall certify to the appropriate congressional committees 
whether United Nations agency programming, including 
any program or project, in Syria funded in whole or in 
part by the United States— 
(1) is delivered impartially, without hindrance, 
to the areas of greatest need; 
(2) does not directly materially support the 
Government of Syria or entities owned or controlled 
by the Syrian government, Syrian government offi-
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cials, their immediate families, or entities under 
their direction; 
(3) does not directly materially support associ-
ated forces of the Government of Syria or entities 
owned or controlled by the Syrian government; 
(4) adheres to the United Nations Supplier 
Code of Conduct, which states that the United Na-
tions must not support, directly or indirectly, other 
entities and individuals involved in human rights 
abuses, and which requires United Nations agencies 
to secure guarantees from suppliers that ‘‘they are 
not complicit in human rights abuses’’; and 
(5) is vetted by an independent mechanism that 
reviews contract procurement in Syrian government- 
held areas. 
(b) FUNDING LIMITATION AND REDIRECTION.—If 
the Secretary of State makes a certification described in 
subsection (a) in the negative— 
(1) no Federal department or agency may pro-
vide any funding, directly or indirectly, to any 
United Nations agency programming, including any 
program or project, in Syria that fails to meet the 
criteria of the certification specified in subsection 
(a); and 
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(2) amounts made available to the Secretary of 
State that are withheld from United Nations agency 
programming, including any program or project, in 
Syria in accordance with paragraph (1) shall be 
made available to the Administrator of the United 
States Agency for International Development’s Of-
fice of Foreign Disaster Assistance for providing as-
sistance to populations in Syria in need. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 
the Committee on Appropriations of the House 
of Representatives; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 
and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
Senate. 
(2) ASSOCIATED FORCES.—The term ‘‘associ-
ated forces’’ includes forces of the Government of 
Russia, forces of the Government of Iran, Iranian- 
backed proxy militias, and Hezbollah. 
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SEC. 209. PROCLAMATION AUTHORITY REGARDING FREE 
SYRIA ECONOMIC ZONES. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Con-
gress that— 
(1) enhanced trade with areas of Syria that are 
not under the al-Assad regime’s control could help 
economically develop such areas, strengthen civil so-
ciety, and ultimately help achieve a transition to a 
free and democratic Syria; 
(2) the President should work to— 
(A) economically integrate areas of Syria 
that are not under the al-Assad regime’s con-
trol, including in both northeast and northwest 
Syria, in order to promote trade among such 
areas and with United States allies in the re-
gion; and 
(B) economically reduce the dependence of 
such areas on the al-Assad regime. 
(b) ELIMINATION OR MODIFICATIONS OF DUTIES.— 
The President is authorized to proclaim elimination or 
modification of any existing duty as the President deter-
mines is necessary to exempt any article from duty if that 
article is wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of 
a free Syria economic zone or is a new or different article 
of commerce that has been grown, produced, or manufac-
tured in a free Syria economic zone. 
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(c) WAIVER OF SANCTIONS.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, the President is authorized to waive 
the imposition of sanctions under any provision of law in 
order to provide for the importation into the United States 
of any article described in subsection (b) and to exempt 
such article from duty in accordance with the provisions 
of subsection (b). 
(d) DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED.—An article is eligi-
ble for the duty exemption under this section only if— 
(1) the importer certifies that the article meets 
the conditions for the duty exemption; and 
(2) when requested by U.S. Customs and Bor-
der Protection, the importer, manufacturer, or ex-
porter submits a declaration setting forth all perti-
nent information with respect to the article, includ-
ing the following: 
(A) A description of the article, quantity, 
numbers, and marks of packages, invoice num-
bers, and bills of lading. 
(B) A description of the operations per-
formed in the production of the article in a free 
Syria economic zone and identification of the 
direct costs of processing operations. 
(C) A description of any materials used in 
production of the article which are wholly the 
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growth, product, or manufacture of free Syria 
economic zones, and a statement as to the cost 
or value of such materials. 
(D) A description of the operations per-
formed on, and a statement as to the origin and 
cost or value of, any foreign materials used in 
the article which are claimed to have been suffi-
ciently processed in the free Syria economic 
zone so as to be materials produced in the free 
Syria economic zone. 
(E) A description of the origin and cost or 
value of any foreign materials used in the arti-
cle which have not been substantially trans-
formed in the free Syria economic zone. 
(e) FREE SYRIA ECONOMIC ZONE DEFINED.—In this 
section, the term ‘‘free Syria economic zone’’ means any 
area that— 
(1) encompasses portions of the territory of 
Syria; 
(2) is not under the control of the Government 
of Syria, the Government of Iran, the Government 
of Russia, or any organization designated as a for-
eign terrorist organization under section 219 of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189), 
including— 
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(A) the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham 
(ISIS); 
(B) Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham; the al-Nusra 
Front; and 
(C) Jabhat Fatah al-Sham; and 
(3) has been specified by the President as a 
free Syria economic zone. 
Æ 
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