Hong Kong to Prohibit the Supply of Mercury-containing Cosmetics

Term:

• The Minamata Convention on Mercury is an international agreement adopted by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries on October 10, 2013, in Japan. It has been amended several times and is applicable to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's Mercury Control Ordinance came into effect on December 1, 2021, to fully implement the Minamata Convention on Mercury. This Ordinance regulates the import, export, storage, and use of mercury, mercury mixtures, compounds, and certain mercury-added products, as well as manufacturing processes involving mercury.

The Ordinance prohibits the import, export, and manufacture of specific mercury-added products from December 1, 2021, and will extend this prohibition to the supply of these products starting December 1, 2024.