Hong Kong Updates and Alerts -

New Restrictions on Exports to Hong Kong – License Exceptions for Hong Kong Suspended -

On June 29, 2020, the State Department announced that the U.S. will end the export of U.S.-origin defense equipment to Hong Kong and will impose the same restrictions on U.S. defense and dual-use technologies exported to Hong Kong as it does for China. On July 31, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a Final Rule implementing changes (announced on June 30) to the Export AdministrationRegulations (EAR) which suspend the availability of all license exceptions for exports or re-exports to Hong Kong, or transfers within Hong Kong, that provide different treatment for exports to Hong Kong as compared to China. Exporters should ensure that their internal processes are updated to avoid seeking to use such license exceptions when shipping to Hong Kong.

This change comes in response to the new Hong Kong national security law, which grants the Chinese government enforcement control over political offenses and vastly reduces Hong Kong’s autonomy. In a press statement, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said that after the passage of the new law, the United States “can no longer distinguish between the export of controlled items to Hong Kong or to mainland China.”