[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] Starting from the 25th of next month, products manufactured in Hong Kong will carry the label 'Made in China' when exported to the United States.
The U.S. Donald Trump administration announced on the 11th (local time) through the Federal Register that, according to President Trump's executive order, from September 25th, 45 days later, the labeling of Hong Kong-made products as 'Made in China' will be mandatory.
The Trump administration explained that exporters must change the label from 'Made in Hong Kong' to 'Made in China' during the 45-day compliance period.
This measure is one of the retaliatory actions following the implementation of China's Hong Kong National Security Law, which President Trump signed on August 14th last month, suspending the application of the Hong Kong Policy Act enacted in 1929 and ending Hong Kong's special treatment under the normalization executive order.
Hong Kong companies will now be subject to tariffs on par with mainland Chinese exporters.
At a press conference held in the White House Rose Garden at that time, President Trump stated, "Hong Kong will now be treated the same as mainland China," adding, "No privileges, no special economic treatment, and no sensitive technology exports."
However, since Hong Kong is an export hub where re-exporting processed goods is more important than direct exports, purely Hong Kong-manufactured products account for only 1% of shipment volume. Additionally, total exports to the U.S., including re-exported processed goods, account for only 0.1% of shipment volume, leading to forecasts that the effect of this executive order will be minimal.
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