The U.S. will order imports from Hong Kong to be labeled as ‘Made in China’ according to a draft government document, in the latest escalation of trade tensions between the two nations.
The notice is set to be published in the U.S. Federal Register on Aug. 11 and says that goods produced in Hong Kong and imported into the U.S. must be marked to indicate their origin is China. This will begin 45 days after the date of publication in the register.
Of Hong Kong’s roughly HK$304 billion ($39 billion) in exports to the U.S. last year, only about 1.2% were domestic exports, according to data from the Census and Statistics Department Hong Kong. Almost 80% was re-exports from China to the U.S.
The change was made because of President Donald Trump’s July executive order ending Hong Kong’s special status with the U.S. “due to the determination that Hong Kong is no longer sufficiently autonomous to justify differential treatment in relation to China,” the notice said.
The U.S. decision comes after China announced sanctions on 11 Americans in retaliation for similar measures imposed by the U.S. on Friday.