BIS Removes Hong Kong as Separate Destination in EAR

The Bureau of Industry and Security removed Hong Kong as a separate destination from China under the Export Administration Regulations (see 2012160010) in response to Hong Kong losing its autonomy from Beijing, BIS said in a Dec. 22 notice. The measures, which take effect Dec. 23, remove provisions that provide Hong Kong “differential and preferential treatment” for exports, reexports or transfers for items subject to the EAR.

The notice removes Hong Kong as a separate entry on the Commerce Country Chart and from certain Country Groups, removes its eligibility to receive different license exceptions from China, and changes how Electronic Export Information filing requirements apply for exports to Hong Kong, among other provisions. All exports and reexports that may no longer be completed under BIS’s No License Required (NLR) shipment designation that were aboard a carrier to a port as of Dec. 23 may proceed to their destinations under NLR as long as they are shipped by Jan. 22, 2021. BIS suspended certain license exceptions for exports to Hong Kong earlier this year (see 2006300050).