They and legal experts said the lifting of sanctions on the nine individuals marked a “friendly gesture” and was “significant”, but little had changed for dozens of others whose sanctions had expired but who were then placed on a different list.
Sanctions compliance requirements for most businesses also remained largely unchanged, one of the lawyers said.
Their assessment followed the Trump administration’s decision to allow a national emergency declaration in an executive order concerning the city – which underpinned Washington’s decision to end Hong Kong’s preferential treatment in areas including trade and export controls – to expire.
Under the original executive order, the United States imposed six rounds of sanctions targeting 48 Hong Kong and mainland officials between 2020 and 2025.