Bureau of Industry and Security Suspends License Exemptions for Hong Kong

The United States Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced the suspension of license exemptions for Hong Kong, effective June 30th, 2020.  This change comes because the “Chinese Communist Party has imposed new security measures on Hong Kong which undermine its autonomy and thereby increase the risk that sensitive U.S. items will be illegally diverted to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army or Ministry of State Security, Iran, or North Korea.”  Therefore, the BIS suspended “any License Exceptions for exports to Hong Kong, re-exports to Hong Kong, and transfers (in-country) within Hong Kong of items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR)…that provide differential treatment than those available to the People’s Republic of China.”