Trade with U.S.

last updated 8 January 2015

Tripoli

The Bush administration lifted economic sanctions on Libya this week, citing the country’s cooperation in eliminating its weapons of mass destruction. Libya had threatened that if the sanctions weren’t lifted this week, it would cancel its $1.3 billion in compensation payments to families of victims killed in Libya’s 1988 bombing of a Pan Am airplane. Now that the sanctions are gone, Libya can export its oil to the U.S. and airline flights can resume between the two countries. Libya, however, is still officially classified as a “state sponsor of terrorism,” which means U.S. companies are barred from exporting technology to Libya that could have military applications.