On July 17, 2026, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC“) announced certain updates and changes to its Hong Kong-related sanctions program following the expiration of the national emergency declared in Executive Order (“EO“) 13936, The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization. Key changes include:
- OFAC has removed parties designated under EO 13936 been from its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (“SDN“) List. Assets blocked prior to July 14, 2026 remain blocked notwithstanding the expiration of the national emergency.
- Parties who were removed from the SDN List but remain sanctioned under the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (“HKAA“) have been added to OFAC’s Non-SDN Menu-Based Sanctions (“NS-MBS“) List. We have discussed the HKAA previously in our blog post here.
What Changed?
OFAC explained that the expiration of EO 13936 does not affect the continuing validity of either the HKAA or the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019, another statute that authorizes the president to impose sanctions on Hong Kong. As a result, OFAC has taken a bifurcated approach:
- Individuals whose property had been blocked solely under EO 13936 and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were removed from the SDN List.
- Individuals who remain sanctionable under the HKAA were added to the NS-MBS List, a list of persons subject to certain non-blocking menu-based sanctions.
- OFAC stated that assets blocked prior to July 14, 2026 remain blocked notwithstanding the expiration of the national emergency.
In light of these changes, many persons previously designated as SDNs continue to face sanctions-related restrictions, but now under a different sanctions framework. Several prominent current and former Hong Kong and mainland Chinese officials were transferred to the NS-MBS List pursuant to the HKAA. At the same time, OFAC removed several individuals who had been designated solely under EO 13936 from the SDN List.
OFAC stated in its announcement that it intends to publish an amendment to the Hong Kong-Related Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 585, in a future Federal Register publication to reflect the expiration of the national emergency. In addition, OFAC noted that it is reviewing relevant frequently asked questions and guidance associated with the Hong Kong-Related Sanctions Regulations and will update the OFAC website.
