Hong Kong Firms On US Trade Blacklist

The US Commerce Department has places seven Hong Kong firms, as well as 37 businesses and universities on the mainland, on its list of "unverified entities", which US companies should treat with caution.

In practise, it means the companies will struggle to import goods from the United States, as exporters will not be able to use export licence exemptions.

Companies are included on the list, the Commerce Department says, because it cannot verify how goods they import from the US are used.

According to the US Federal Register, the seven are: Able Supply Chain, Boson Technology, HK Hengyu Storage Logistics, Ling Ao Electronic Technology, Rising Logistics Company, Swelatel Technology and Universe Market.

The Foreign Ministry in Beijing has condemned the move as an unfair restriction on free trade.

Locally, IT sector lawmaker Charles Mok said Hong Kong Customs had been investigating whether local companies were breaching export controls set down by the UN Security Council, but had brought no prosecutions.

"This is one area I think government, overall, should look at very seriously," Mok said. "Whether or not, in some of these cases, because of the limitation of the existing law or investigative limitations, that they have not been able to prosecute.

"We obviously do not want Hong Kong's image to be tarnished."