Who Does The US Trade With? Obama To Lift Sanctions Against Sudan After Nearly Two Decades Of Soured Relations

In his final week in office, President Barack Obama is set to lift trade sanctions against Sudan, an East African nation designated a state sponsor of terrorism since 1993, the Associated Press reported Friday.

The AP cited three officials who attributed the policy change to the Sudanese government’s stronger stance on fighting terrorism and keeping the country from becoming a sanctuary for rebels from South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011 and has been locked in a bloody civil war for more than three years.

The policy change will come in the form of an executive order, the New York Times reported. While administration officials told the Times that President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team had been briefed on the action, they did not know whether Trump would maintain the improved trade relationship.

The adjustment would be a welcome change for Sudan, one of the world’s poorest nations. With a population of roughly 40 million, Sudan has a gross domestic product of about $4,400 per capita, compared to $56,100 in the U.S., according to data from the Central Intelligence Agency.

Sudan isn’t the only country where Obama has stepped up trade relations during his eight years as president. In December 2014, Obama announced an end to the U.S. embargo against Cuba that had been in place for more than half a century.

But Sudan is still among a very long list of countries facing U.S. sanctions.