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Syria
In build — data collection under way

A market reopening
after fourteen years
of isolation.

Most international sanctions on Syria were lifted between 2025 and 2026, and importers are re-entering a market that has had almost no formal distributor intelligence for over a decade. Nobody has a current list. That is the problem we are building to solve.

Register interest in Syria →
~24M
Population (est.)
2025
Sanctions largely lifted
4
Sectors planned
—
Profiles live on Hub
Sectors
Healthcare & Life Sciences FMCG Automotive & Lubricants Construction Materials
Market context

Understanding the
Syria distribution
environment.

Syria spent fourteen years under comprehensive sanctions, and the distributor landscape that existed before 2011 is not the one that exists now. Companies dissolved, changed ownership, relocated to Beirut, Amman or Dubai, or survived by trading through intermediaries. Published corporate records are thin, and much of what is available predates the transition.

The practical consequence for a principal is that the usual starting points do not work. There is no reliable directory, no maintained trade association list, and limited useful coverage in commercial databases. Establishing who is actually trading, with what capability, under what ownership, is primary research or it is guesswork.

🏛️
A changed sanctions position
The United States revoked its comprehensive Syria sanctions programme in June 2025 and removed the Syria Sanctions Regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations in August 2025. The EU lifted its economic sanctions in May 2025, Switzerland followed in June, and Canada repealed its broad sectoral measures in February 2026. The UK has eased significantly while retaining some restrictions. Targeted designations on individuals and entities linked to the former regime remain in force in every jurisdiction, and export controls have been eased rather than removed.
📦
Reconstruction-led demand
Demand is weighted toward construction materials, power and water infrastructure, healthcare supply, and the consumer categories that restock a market after prolonged shortage. Categories that depend on high disposable income or complex after-sales infrastructure will take longer to develop.
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Banking channels reopening
Correspondent banking relationships are being re-established, which changes what is practically possible on payment terms. Until they are fully normalised, distributors with access to functioning international banking are materially more valuable than those without, and that access is worth verifying directly rather than accepting as claimed.
🌍
A diaspora-connected trading class
Much Syrian trading capability relocated during the conflict and operates from Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and the UAE. Some of it is returning. A serious search covers companies that are Syrian-owned and Syrian-operating, not only those with a Damascus registration, because the two groups overlap only partially.
Regulatory environment

A regulatory position
that has moved fast
and is still moving.

Syria is the one market where regulatory research has a short shelf life. The sanctions picture changed repeatedly through 2025 and 2026, and domestic commercial regulation is being rebuilt alongside it. Anything written here should be verified against current guidance before it informs a commitment, and any appointment should be screened against live designation lists at the point of signing rather than at the point of shortlisting.

OFAC
US Treasury sanctions position
Executive Order 14312 of 30 June 2025 revoked the executive orders underpinning the comprehensive US sanctions programme and terminated the underlying national emergency. The Syria Sanctions Regulations were removed from the CFR in August 2025 and the State Sponsor of Terrorism designation has been rescinded. Targeted designations remain against individuals and entities associated with the former regime, and against ISIS, Al-Qaida affiliates and Iran-linked networks. Counterparty screening remains essential.
BIS
US export controls
Export controls were eased rather than lifted. A rule implemented in September 2025 reduced licensing requirements for dual-use exports, and License Exception SPP authorises export and reexport of EAR99 items. End-user and end-use restrictions continue to apply. Controlled items still require analysis.
EU / UK
European position
The EU lifted its economic sanctions in May 2025 and has moved toward fuller resumption of its cooperation agreement with Syria. The UK has eased sectoral measures but has retained restrictions in some categories, including luxury goods and precious metals. The two regimes are no longer identical, which matters for principals selling from both.
MoET
Domestic import regime
Import licensing, customs procedure and product registration requirements are being rebuilt alongside the wider economy. Requirements differ by category and are subject to change. Distributors with current, demonstrable licence documentation are worth substantially more than those describing past capability.
Distribution geography

Where distribution
actually happens
in Syria.

Commercial activity concentrates in a small number of centres, and the practical reach of any distributor depends heavily on route security, warehousing that survived the conflict, and access to the coastal ports. National coverage claims should be tested against all three.

Damascus
Administrative and commercial centre
The seat of government, the centre of licensing and registration, and the largest single consumer market. Most serious distributors maintain their head office and principal warehousing here, and regulatory relationships are run from Damascus regardless of where goods physically move.
Aleppo
Industrial and northern trade hub
Historically Syria’s manufacturing and commercial capital and the gateway to northern demand and Turkish trade routes. Industrial capacity was severely damaged and is being rebuilt unevenly. Distributor capability here varies more widely than anywhere else in the country.
Latakia and Tartus
Coastal ports
Syria’s maritime gateways and the entry point for most containerised imports. Proximity to port matters more here than in most markets, because inland haulage cost and reliability vary considerably. Distributors with their own coastal warehousing hold a real structural advantage.
Homs and central corridor
Distribution crossroads
The junction between the coast, Damascus and the north. Its value is as a transit and staging point rather than as a consumer market in its own right, and it is a useful test of whether a distributor genuinely runs national logistics or subcontracts them.
What we will cover

What DistributorIQ
will cover in
Syria.

Syria data collection is under way. The schema is the same one used for every other market on Hub, with additional fields specific to a post-sanctions environment where counterparty screening and documentation currency matter more than usual.

✓
Current licence documentation — import and trading licences verified as current, with the issuing authority and date recorded rather than a claimed status
✓
Sanctions screening at inclusion — every entity and its disclosed ownership screened against current designation lists, and rescreened at each refresh
✓
Ownership and control — beneficial ownership established where possible, including relationships to entities that remain designated
✓
Banking and payment capability — whether the distributor can actually receive and remit internationally, and through which channels
✓
Physical infrastructure — warehousing, cold chain and fleet verified as operational rather than as pre-conflict capacity
✓
Coastal and inland reach — port access and genuine inland distribution capability recorded separately
✓
Data currency flagged explicitly — every field carries its collection date, because in this market a six-month-old fact may no longer be one
Common pitfalls

Where Syria distributor
appointments
go wrong.

01
Assuming sanctions relief is total
Comprehensive programmes were lifted; targeted designations and export controls were not. A distributor can be entirely legitimate while a shareholder, an affiliate or an end customer is not. Screening is a continuing obligation rather than a one-off check at appointment, and it should extend past the counterparty to the onward channel.
02
Reappointing a pre-2011 partner without re-diligence
Principals who were in Syria before the conflict often assume they can resume with their former distributor. Ownership, capability, banking access and regulatory standing have all changed in many cases. The relationship may still be the right one, but it needs establishing again rather than assuming.
03
Treating a regional office as Syrian capability
A number of Syrian trading businesses now operate from Beirut, Amman or Dubai. Some have genuine in-country infrastructure; some have a phone number and an intermediary. The distinction determines whether a principal is appointing a distributor or an agent, and it is not usually volunteered.
04
Underestimating how fast the picture changes
Regulatory position, currency, banking access and route security have all moved repeatedly. Research with a twelve-month refresh cycle is not adequate here. Any Syria appointment should assume the operating context at signature will differ from the one at shortlisting.

Syria is in build.
Tell us what you
need covered.

We are collecting Syria data now. Tell us the sector and the product category you are working on and we will prioritise accordingly, and let you know when the market goes live on Hub. If you need a shortlist sooner, our consulting practice can run it as a project today.

Register interest → Commission it now
Syria is in build on Hub · consulting projects available today
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