USA: Bipartisan support to pass bill imposing sanctions on banks and officials responsible for Hong Kong national security law
“U.S. Senator sees strong bipartisan support for Hong Kong sanctions bill”, 4 Jun 2020
A co-sponsor of a U.S. Senate bill to impose sanctions on Chinese officials and local banks for violations of Hong Kong’s independence said… there was interest from both Republicans and Democrats in passing the legislation quickly.
“There’s bipartisan interest in getting legislation like this done as soon as possible,” Republican Senator Pat Toomey told a Banking Committee hearing on U.S. options for Hong Kong.
Toomey and Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, another banking committee member, offered their bill… in response to China’s plans to impose new national security legislation on Hong Kong…
The bill would freeze U.S. property assets of individuals responsible for implementing a proposed Hong Kong national-security law. Unlike past legislation, Chinese banks doing significant business with those officials would also be targeted, cutting them off from American counterparts and limiting access to U.S. dollar transactions.
The bill is several steps from becoming law, but it would add to pressure on banks over China…
[Also referred to HSBC and Standard Chartered]