On December 23, 2020, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule in the Federal Register that removes Hong Kong as a “separate destination” under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
The final rule makes many changes to the EAR with regard to Hong Kong, including:
- Removes the entry of Hong Kong from the Commerce Country Chart (Supplement No. 1 to Part 738 of the EAR), meaning that “[l]icense requirements for Hong Kong will now be governed by the Commerce Country Chart entry for China”;
- Amends several license exception and licensing policies; and
- Adds a note to 758.1(b)(10) requiring EEI filing for exports of items on the Commerce Control List to Hong Kong.
The rule also includes a savings clause, which states that “Shipments of items that may no longer be made under No License Required (NLR) as a result of this action and were on dock for loading, on lighter, laden aboard an exporting or transferring carrier, or en route aboard a carrier to a port of export or reexport on December 23, 2020, pursuant to actual orders for export to Hong Kong, reexport to Hong Kong, or transfer within Hong Kong may proceed to their destination under NLR January 22, 2021.”
The final rule, effective December 23, 2020, can be found here:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/12/23/2020-28101/removal-of-hong-kong-as-a-separate-destination-under-the-export-administration-regulations
