
With sanctions lifted, Syria looks to solar power as more than a patchwork fix to its energy crisis
Al-Jenan went thousands of dollars in debt to buy his solar panel in 2019. It was an expensive coping mechanism at the time, but without it, he couldn't charge his phone and run the refrigerator.
Syria has not had more than four hours of state electricity per day for years, as a result of the nearly 14-year civil war that ended with the ouster of former President Bashar Assad in December.
Syria's new leaders are hoping renewable energy will now become more than a patchwork solution. Investment is beginning to return to the country with the lifting of U.S. sanctions, and major energy projects are planned, including an industrial-scale solar farm that would secure about a tenth of the country's energy needs.
'The solution to the problem isn't putting solar panels on roofs,' Syria's interim Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir told The Associated Press. 'It's securing enough power for the families through our networks in Syria. This is what we're trying to do.'
Restoring the existing energy infrastructure
Some of the efforts focus on simply repairing infrastructure destroyed in the war. The World Bank recently announced a $146 million grant to help Syria repair damaged transmission lines and transformer substations. Al-Bashir said Syria's infrastructure that has been repaired can provide 5,000 megawatts, about half the country's needs, but fuel and gas shortages have hampered generation. With the sanctions lifted, that supply could come in soon.
More significantly, Syria recently signed a $7 billion energy deal with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish, and American companies. The program over the next three and a half years would develop four combined-cycle gas turbines with a total generating capacity estimated at approximately 4,000 megawatts and a 1,000-megawatt solar farm. This would 'broadly secure the needs' of Syrians, said Al-Bashir.
While Syria is initially focusing on fixing its existing fossil fuel infrastructure to improve quality of life, help make businesses functional again, and entice investors, the U.N. Development Program said in May that a renewable energy plan will be developed in the next year for the country.
The plan will look at Syria's projected energy demand and determine how much of it can come from renewable sources.
'Given the critical role of energy in Syria's recovery, we have to rapidly address energy poverty and progressively accelerate the access to renewable energy,' Sudipto Mukerjee, UNDP's resident representative in Syria, said in a statement announcing the plan.
Sanctions crippled the power grid
While the war caused significant damage to Syria's infrastructure, crippling Washington-led sanctions imposed during the Assad dynasty's decades of draconian rule made it impossible for Syria to secure fuel and spare parts to generate power.
'Many companies over the past period would tell us the sanctions impact matters like imports, implementing projects, transferring funds and so on,' al-Bashir said.
During a visit to Turkey in May, the minister said Syria could only secure about 1700 megawatts, a little less than 20%, of its energy needs.
A series of executive orders by U.S. President Donald Trump lifted many sanctions on Syria, aiming to end the country's isolation from the global banking system so that it can become viable again and rebuild itself.
The United Nations estimates the civil war caused hundreds of billions of dollars in damages and economic losses across the country. Some 90% of Syrians live in poverty. Buying solar panels, private generators or other means of producing their own energy has been out of reach for most of the population.
'Any kind of economic recovery needs a functional energy sector,' said Joseph Daher, Syrian-Swiss economist and researcher, who said that stop-gap measures like solar panels and private generators were luxuries only available to a few who could afford it. 'There is also a need to diminish the cost of electricity in Syria, which is one of the most expensive in the region.'
Prices for electricity in recent years surged as the country under its former rulers struggled with currency inflation and rolling back on subsidies. The new officials who inherited the situation say that lifting sanctions will help them rectify the country's financial and economic woes, and provide sufficient and affordable electricity as soon as they can.
'The executive order lifts most of the obstacles for political and economic investment with Syria," said Qutaiba Idlibi, who leads the Americas section of the Foreign Ministry.
Syria has been under Washington-led sanctions for decades, but designations intensified during the war that started in 2011. Even with some waivers for humanitarian programs, it was difficult to bring in resources and materials to fix Syria's critical infrastructure — especially electricity — further compounding the woes of the vast majority of Syrians, who live in poverty.
The focus is economic recovery
The removal of sanctions signals to U.S. businesses that Trump is serious in his support for Syria's recovery, Idlibi said.
'Right now, we have a partnership with the United States as any normal country would do," he said.
'We can at least know what's going on in the country and watch on TV,' he said. 'We really were cut off from the entire world.'
___
Chehayeb reported from Beirut.
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Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump says 25% tariffs coming for Japan and South Korea as trade war escalates again
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he's imposing a 25% tariffs on goods from Japan and South Korea beginning on August 1 as the Republican continues his pressure campaign on longtime U.S. allies who have not yet entered into new trade agreements with his administration. Trump broke the news on July 7 via Truth Social, which is where he posted letters to the leaders of the two Asian economic powerhouses that warn of retaliatory and identical reciprocal increases "If for any reason you decide to raise your tariffs" on the United States. Other letters from Trump are expected to focus on smaller U.S. trading partners. As many as 100 could go out in total before July 9, when the president's pause on higher tariff rates is due to expire. The administration said the rates would take effect on August 1, if countries did not come to another arrangement with the United States before that time. The new date marks a delay by several weeks for the current deadline for the reciprocal tariffs to take effect. Trump unveiled his tariffs in early April, and then paused them after market turmoil. Last week, the president acknowledged a White House pledge was proving to be complicated that would see 90 different deals cut in 90 days with American's trading partners. The administration ultimately spent much of the time negotiating with large nations and countries with which it has the most substantial trade deficits. The president and his advisers were also focused on pushing through Congress the massive tax and spending bill Trump signed into law on July 4. Trump initially said he would put higher tariffs on a slew of nations on April 2 but paused them until 12:01 a.m. EDT on July 9 for most countries while his administration sought new trade deals. The so-called 'Liberation Day' tariffs rocked financial markets. They have since recovered, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq setting new records. Since then Trump has announced trade deals with Vietnam and the United Kingdom and a framework agreement with China. He left in place a baseline tariff of 10% on most other nations and also increased tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and introduced exemptions for some foreign-made car parts and automotives. He also threatend What to know on tariffs: Donald Trump pushes forward on tariffs despite court challenges The president said July 3 that because the process was easier he would soon begin sending out regular batches of tariff letters dictating rates to sell products in the United States, rather than negotiating scores of individual trade deals. 'How many deals can you make?' Trump told reporters. 'You can make more deals, but they're very much more complicated.' He added: 'It's just so many countries." Disputes remained with major trading partners such as Canada, Mexico, India and the European Union heading into this week, although Trump's Treasury secretary said new proposals were flooding in with less than 48 hours until the July deadline. As of early afternoon on July 7, the only letters Trump had published were directed at South Korea and Japan, which he hit with roughly the same reciprocal tariff rates as what had been announced before. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CNN's "State of the Union" on July 6 that Trump would send out letters to 100 smaller countries with whom the U.S. doesn't have much trade, notifying them that they would face the tariff rate that Trump set in April and then suspended. "President Trump's going to be sending letters to some of our trading partners saying that if you don't move things along, then on August 1 you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level. So I think we're going to see a lot of deals very quickly," Bessent told CNN. Bessent denied that August 1 was a new deadline for negotiations. "We are saying this is when it's happening. If you want to speed things up, have at it. If you want to go back to the old rate, that's your choice," he told CNN. Kevin Hassett, who heads the White House National Economic Council, in an interview on CBS's "Face the Nation" offered some wiggle room for countries engaged in earnest negotiations. Contributing: Bart Jansen, Joey Garrison This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says 25% tariffs coming for Japan and South Korea


Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
Playbook PM: Trump turns to tricky treaties
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There's been progress on an agreement in principle, and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had a 'good exchange' with Trump over the phone yesterday. Over at Blair House: Netanyahu landed in D.C. early this morning and has a packed day of meetings that Trump is hoping will help push a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza across the finish line this week. Netanyahu is set to meet with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff at 3 p.m., Rubio at 4:30 p.m. and will cap the day with a White House dinner with Trump around 6:30 p.m. On the agenda: The latest Gaza ceasefire proposal, which comes after two short-lived agreements failed to secure an end to the war, would build in negotiations to end the war, a detail that will be essential for Hamas as conversations continue this week. The two leaders could also discuss talks with Iran. Trump said last night that he's working with Israel on a 'permanent deal.' 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It's an ongoing private conversation among reporters, animated by a sense that the watchdogs haven't been zealous enough — but featuring no real agreement on how to handle these moments.' MEDIA MOVES — The Daily Wire is bringing on Gen Z commentator Isabel Brown to host her D.C.-based podcast, 'The Isabel Brown Show,' on the platform. TRANSITIONS — Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is bringing on five new partners: Jim Flood, Aaron Cummings, Evan Chuck, Anne Elise Herold Li and Paul Keller. Scott Douglas is also joining as policy director. All previously were at Crowell & Moring. … Henry Liu is now a partner and co-chair of the global Antitrust and Competition Law Practice Group at Covington. He previously was director of the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission. … … Colin Moneymaker is now social secretary at the British embassy. He previously was a consultant for Haddad Media and the Washington AI Network. … James Burnham has rejoined the law firm King Street Legal. Burnham was previously the general counsel for DOGE. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. Correction: Thursday's Playbook PM misstated which network Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared on that day. It was Fox Business Network.


San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Deals made by Trump since pausing his 'Liberation Day' tariffs remain sparse
NEW YORK (AP) — Just over three months ago, President Donald Trump unveiled his most sweeping volley of tariffs yet — holding up large charts from the White House Rose Garden to outline new import taxes that the U.S. would soon slap on goods from nearly every country in the world. But in line with much of Trump's on-again, off-again trade policy playbook, the bulk of those 'Liberation Day' levies in April were postponed just hours after they took effect — in a 90-day suspension that arrived in an apparent effort to quell global market panic and facilitate country-by-country negotiations. At that time, the administration set a lofty goal of reaching 90 trade deals in 90 days. Now, with the July 9 deadline looming, the U.S. has only announced pacts with the United Kingdom and Vietnam — as well as a 'framework″ agreement with China in a separate trade dispute. News of these deals often trickled through social media posts from the president and, even when countries on both sides of a negotiation table made more official announcements, many key details — including timing — were sparse. The Trump administration has since hinted that some trading partners might get more time for talks. Over the July 4th holiday weekend, Trump said that the U.S. would start sending letters to certain countries warning that higher tariffs could kick in Aug. 1. Trump took to Truth Social on Monday to share letters he sent to the leaders of Japan and South Korea, declaring that both countries would see 25% tariffs on goods entering the U.S. starting Aug. 1. Even with negotiations ongoing, most countries have still faced a minimum 10% levy on goods entering the U.S. over the past three months, on top of punishing new taxes targeting foreign steel and aluminum as well as auto imports. The 90-day pause pushed back additional steeper rates, which Trump calls 'reciprocal' tariffs, for dozens of nations. Here's what we know about the trade deals announced since April. Vietnam On July 2, Trump announced a trade deal with Vietnam that he said would allow U.S. goods to enter the country duty-free. Vietnamese exports to the United States, by contrast, would face a 20% levy. That's less than half the 46% 'reciprocal' rate Trump proposed for Vietnamese goods back in April. But in addition to the new 20% tariff rate, Trump said the U.S. would impose a 40% tax on 'transshipping'' — targeting goods from another country that stop in Vietnam on their way to the United States. Washington complains that Chinese goods have been dodging higher U.S. tariffs by transiting through Vietnam. It wasn't immediately clear when these new rates would go into effect or whether they would come on top of any other previously-imposed levies. Like most other countries, Vietnam has faced Trump's 10% baseline tariff for the last three months. United Kingdom On May 8, Trump agreed to cut tariffs on British autos, steel and aluminum, among other trade pledges — while the U.K. promised to reduce levies on U.S. products like olive oil, wine and sports equipment. The deal was announced in grandiose terms by both countries, but some key details remained unknown for weeks. When the deal was announced, for example, the British government notably said that the U.S. agreed to exempt the U.K. from its then-universal 25% duties on foreign steel and aluminum — which would have effectively allowed both metals from the country to come into the U.S. duty-free. But the timing for when those cuts would actually take effect stayed up in the air for almost a month. It wasn't until early June, when Trump hiked his steel and aluminum tariffs to a punishing 50% worldwide, that the U.S. acknowledged it was time to implement the agreement. And even then, U.S. tariffs on British steel and aluminum did not go to zero. The U.K. was the only country spared from Trump's new 50% levies, but still faces 25% import taxes on the metals — and Trump said that rate could also go up on or after Wednesday. The U.K. did not receive a higher 'reciprocal' rate on April 2, but continues to face the 10% baseline tax. China At its peak, Trump's new tariffs on Chinese goods totaled 145% — and China's countertariffs on American products reached 125%. But on May 12, the countries agreed to their own 90-day truce to roll back those levies to 30% and 10%, respectively. And last month, details began trickling in about a tentative trade agreement. On June 11, following talks in London, Trump announced a 'framework' for a deal. And late last month, the U.S. and China both acknowledged that some sort of agreement had been reached. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that China had agreed to make it easier for American firms to acquire Chinese magnets and rare earth minerals critical for manufacturing and microchip production. Meanwhile, without explicitly mentioning U.S. access to rare earths, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said that it would 'review and approve eligible export applications for controlled items' and that the U.S. would 'lift a series of restrictive measures it had imposed on China." More specifics about those measures — and when they would actually go into effect — were not immediately clear. But on Friday, the Ministry of Commerce acknowledged that the U.S. was resuming exports of airplane parts, ethane and other items to China. And when Trump first announced the framework on June 11, the U.S. had said it agreed to stop seeking to revoke the visas of Chinese students on U.S. college campuses.