The United States has banned the export of American-made defense equipment and technology that could be used for military purposes in Hong Kong. The restriction, which previously applied only to mainland China, came into effect due to China's new security laws aimed at strengthening Beijing's control.
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the State Department issued statements about the ban, with both departments citing China in Hong Kong as a reason why the territory no longer receives preferential treatment.
“With the Chinese Communist Party’s imposition of new security measures on Hong Kong, the risk of “sensitive” U.S. technology being transferred to the People’s Liberation Army or the Ministry of State Security has increased, while undermining the region’s autonomy,” the U.S. Department of Commerce said.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Chinese Communist Party is “eviscerating Hong Kong’s freedoms” with its new security policies.
“As Beijing moves forward with the passage of the national security law ,the United States will today halt exports of American defense equipment and take steps to impose the same restrictions on American defense and dual-use technologies in Hong Kong as it does for China,” Pompeo said.
As first reported in The New York Times, the new export ban comes as Chinese lawmakers make final preparations to pass a national security law that could drastically curb protests and other criticism of the Chinese government.
The United States' decision to ban the export of defense equipment and dual-use technology had already begun to operate since last month, with US President Donald Trump in late May announcing the removal of certain policy exemptions that treated Hong Kong differently from mainland China.
At the time, experts expressed concern that the changes would impact Hong Kong and severely limit the ability of companies to make technology transfers.
About 6% – $10 billion – of mainland China’s imports from the US were transported through Hong Kong in 2018, according to the Hong Kong government.
