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Dardari to Asharq Al-Awsat: Syria’s Economy Lost $54 Bn in 14 Years

A man counts money at a gas station in Aleppo, northern Syria (AFP)
A man counts money at a gas station in Aleppo, northern Syria (AFP)
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Dardari to Asharq Al-Awsat: Syria’s Economy Lost $54 Bn in 14 Years

A man counts money at a gas station in Aleppo, northern Syria (AFP)
A man counts money at a gas station in Aleppo, northern Syria (AFP)

The United Nations has authorized its development program to start engaging with Syria's new interim government to support humanitarian efforts and kickstart the country's recovery, as Syria has lost $54 billion in GDP over the past 14 years.
Dr. Abdallah Dardari, Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), told Asharq Al-Awsat during his visit to Riyadh for the COP16 conference that he instructed the program's office in Damascus to begin contacting government officials and start the needed assessments for Syria's recovery.
Bashar al-Assad’s regime left behind significant economic challenges, with near-total collapse of the country's infrastructure, the destruction of thousands of homes, and the displacement of millions.
Dardari outlined the severe situation in Syria, noting that the country has lost 24 years of human development. The GDP has dropped from $62 billion in 2010 to just $8 billion today, a loss of $54 billion over 14 years. Poverty has risen from 12% in 2010 to over 90%, and more than 65% of the population now faces food insecurity.
He added that Syria faces a tough recovery, with estimates showing that nearly 2 million of the 5.5 million housing units have been destroyed or damaged.
Dardari explained that estimating the cost of rebuilding housing units requires updates due to changes in construction prices. However, he highlighted that the biggest challenge in Syria is the weakened institutional structure compared to pre-2011, when state institutions were strong.
The focus of the UN program now is on supporting these institutions, as “without capable institutions, there can be no development or reconstruction.”
The program is also targeting the private sector, which has withstood many challenges and is ready to take advantage of any opportunities for stability and growth.
He added that in the past 48 hours, following the interim government’s announcement of a free market economy with quick measures to ease trade, the Syrian pound improved from 30,000 to 14,000 per dollar, a 50% improvement.

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Trump Exempts Mexico Goods from Tariffs for a Month, but Doesn’t Mention Canada

Construction workers are seen on the site of a new development in Long Beach, California, March 5, 2025. (AFP)
Construction workers are seen on the site of a new development in Long Beach, California, March 5, 2025. (AFP)
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Trump Exempts Mexico Goods from Tariffs for a Month, but Doesn’t Mention Canada

Construction workers are seen on the site of a new development in Long Beach, California, March 5, 2025. (AFP)
Construction workers are seen on the site of a new development in Long Beach, California, March 5, 2025. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said Mexico won't be required to pay tariffs on any goods that fall under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade until April 2, but made no mention of a reprieve for Canada despite his Commerce secretary saying a comparable exemption was likely.

"After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "This Agreement is until April 2nd."

Earlier on Thursday, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the one-month reprieve on hefty tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada that has been granted to automotive products is likely to be extended to all products that comply with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade.

Lutnick told CNBC he expected Trump to announce that extension on Thursday, a day after exempting automotive goods from the 25% tariffs he slapped on imports from Canada and Mexico earlier in the week.

Trump "is going to decide this today," Lutnick said, adding "it's likely that it will cover all USMCA-compliant goods and services."

"So if you think about it this way, if you lived under Donald Trump's US-Mexico-Canada agreement, you will get a reprieve from these tariffs now. If you chose to go outside of that, you did so at your own risk, and today is when that reckoning comes," he said.

Nonetheless, Trump's social media post made no mention of a reprieve for Canada, the other party to the USMCA deal that Trump negotiated during his first term as president.

Lutnick said his "off the cuff" estimate was that more than 50% of the goods imported from the two US neighbors - also its largest two trading partners - were compliant with the USMCA deal that Trump negotiated during his first term as president.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Lutnick's comments "promising" in remarks to reporters in Canada.

"That aligns with some of the conversations that we have been having with administration officials, but I'm going to wait for an official agreement to talk about Canadian response and look at the details of it," Trudeau said. "But it is a promising sign. But I will highlight that it means that the tariffs remain in place, and therefore our response will remain in place."

Lutnick emphasized that the reprieve would only last until April 2, when he said the administration plans to move ahead with reciprocal tariffs under which the US will impose levies that match those imposed by trading partners.

In the meantime, he said, the current hiatus is about getting fentanyl deaths down, which is the initial justification Trump used for the tariffs on Mexico and Canada and levies on Chinese goods that have now risen to 20%.

"On April 2, we're going to move with the reciprocal tariffs, and hopefully Mexico and Canada will have done a good enough job on fentanyl that this part of the conversation will be off the table, and we'll move just to the reciprocal tariff conversation," Lutnick said. "But if they haven't, this will stay on."

Indeed, Trudeau is expecting the US and Canada to remain in a trade war.

"I can confirm that we will continue to be in a trade war that was launched by the United States for the foreseeable future," he told reporters in Ottawa.