US lifts some Hong Kong sanctions imposed by Trump, autonomy status unchanged

The United States on Friday (Jul 17) partially removed Hong Kong-related sanctions and trade restrictions imposed by President Donald Trump in 2020 over China's security crackdown on the territory, but did not restore its autonomous status, the US State and Treasury departments said

.

China had earlier announced that the US decision to allow the expiration of Trump's national emergency declaration over Hong Kong would restore the territory's special trade and economic status, but US officials disputed this assessment.



The US Treasury Department announced that it had allowed only the national emergency portions of Trump's order to expire. The order was issued during Trump's first term in response to Beijing's imposition of a national security law in Hong Kong.



The July 14, 2020, order, which had been extended annually for the past five years, imposed sanctions on individuals associated with Hong Kong's security crackdown and suspended the territory's special economic and trade privileges associated with its prior autonomous status.



A US State Department spokesperson said that while the national emergency has ended, other parts of the executive order remain in effect.