Syria may see a letter of credit (L/C) shortage if tougher economic sanctions are imposed on the regime of Bashar Al Assad.

The threat of economic sanctions is raised in the Arab League's resolution to suspend Syria's membership earlier this month.

Non-specific

The resolution is not specific about the kind of economic sanctions likely to be imposed on Syria.

It will most likely be left up to each Arab League member state to decide on how it wants to make life harder for the Syrian government.

L/C considerations

One set of measures reportedly under consideration is a bar on doing business with Syrian banks, thus disconnecting them from the regional banking network.

This would prevent the Syrian government and, depending on the type of sanctions imposed, businesses from opening L/Cs for regional trades.

Oil ban

Banning purchases of Syrian oil would probably be the toughest sanction Syria's neighbours could impose.

Economic sanctions imposed by the US and the EU on Syria, which include a ban on Syrian oil exports, are already having a deep impact on the country's economy.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or any of the other partners in DC-PRO.