The Hong Kong government has asked the U.S. to lift its requirement on origin marking for goods made in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau said Wednesday (Sept. 16). Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau said on Wednesday (September 16) that he had asked the U.S. Consul General in Hong Kong and Macau that day to convey the Hong Kong government’s request to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
The U.S. Customs authorities on August 11 issued a statement that since September 25, Hong Kong exports to the United States must be marked with the country of origin “China”, can not continue to affix the “Made in Hong Kong” label.
However, on August 24, Reuters quoted Qiu Tenghua as saying that the U.S. side, at the request of some industry, will switch to labeling Hong Kong goods with “Made in China” labeling requirements of the implementation date was extended by 45 days to November 9. Qiu also said that the government would continue to work on the issue.
In a press conference Wednesday, Qiu said Hong Kong, as a responsible member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), has always abided by WTO rules and hopes to seek bilateral dialogue with the United States through the WTO mechanism, hoping to ask the U.S. side to change its approach, and depending on the U.S. response, the decision will be based on, including the WTO dispute settlement mechanism to protect Hong Kong’s interests.
In response to the Chinese authorities’ push for a Hong Kong version of the National Security Law, the U.S. government made it clear that Hong Kong “no longer has sufficient autonomy, and there is no longer any reason” for Hong Kong to continue to enjoy “differential treatment” different from that of China.
President Trump signed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act on July 14, holding China responsible for its actions against Hong Kong people, and he also signed an executive order ending Hong Kong’s special treatment. This measure, taken by U.S. Customs authorities on August 11, is actually a concrete implementation of the new U.S. policy toward Hong Kong.
The United States is the second-largest destination for Hong Kong-made goods, accounting for 7.7 percent of total exports of goods originating in Hong Kong in 2019. During the year, Hong Kong exported $471 million worth of goods of Hong Kong origin to the United States, most of which were jewelry, food, electronics, and appliances. These exports, however, accounted for only 0.1 percent of Hong Kong’s total exports. As the largest trading partner of the United States for many years, China exports a large portion of its goods to the United States through Hong Kong each year. With the loss of Hong Kong’s trade preference status, China’s exports to the U.S. will also suffer great losses.
At press time, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative had not seen a response to the Hong Kong government’s request for the U.S. to revoke the requirement for origin marking of goods manufactured in Hong Kong.
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