On July 14, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (“HKAA”) providing for the imposition of sanctions on foreign persons who materially contribute to the undermining of Hong Kong’s autonomy by the Government of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) and foreign financial institutions who engage in significant transactions with such foreign persons. During a press conference announcing the signing of the HKAA, President Trump also indicated that he had signed…
The US Administration has taken a series of actions in recent days to tighten US export controls for Hong Kong and to sanction Chinese government officials in response to the decision of the Chinese Communist Party (“CCP”) to impose a new national security law for Hong Kong. Most significantly, these actions put Hong Kong on a par with China with respect to license exception eligibility under the US Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) by suspending all…
On May 29, 2020, the president announced in a White House press conference the Administration’s determination that Hong Kong is no longer sufficiently autonomous from the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”), and that the US Government would take “strong and meaningful” steps to “begin the process” of reviewing and revoking the “full range of agreements” that currently provide Hong Kong with preferential treatment under US law. This determination follows Secretary of State Michael Pompeo’s certification…