US orders goods from Hong Kong to be labelled as 'Made in China' from Sep 25

Companies manufacturing in Hong Kong will now have to label their products as 'Made in China', particularly those meant for export to the United States. A new notification issued by the US Customs & Border Protection said that goods made for export to the United States will need to be labelled as made in China after September 25. This comes as the United States determined that Hong Kong is no longer sufficiently autonomous to enjoy a different treatment than mainland China. As per the notice issued by the CBP, the same trade tariffs will be imposed on Hong Kong as on exporters from China. 

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In June 1997, the US Customs Service, CBP's predecessor agency, issued a notice that goods produced in Hong Kong should continue to be marked to indicate their origin as 'Hong Kong' after the city's return to China in 1997. But the latest notice issued on August 11 read, "This document notifies the public that, in light of the President's Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization, issued on July 14, 2020, suspending the application of section 201(a) of the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 to the marking statute, section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, with respect to imported goods produced in Hong Kong, such goods may no longer be marked to indicate 'Hong Kong' as their origin, but must be marked to indicate China".

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China imposes NSL

This comes after the Communist Party of China imposed the controversial national security law in the former British colony last month. The United States following the imposition of the NSL levied sanctions on Hong Kong's chief executive Carrie Lam and former police chiefs of the semi-autonomous region for allegedly suppressing free speech in the city. China retaliated with similar sanctions on politicians and officials from the United States. 

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(Image Credit: AP)