Hong Kong to potentially lose its Special Status

On May 27, Secretary of State, Pompeo, has declared that Hong Kong is no longer autonomous from China.

US imports from Hong Kong might be at risk of incurring additional duties from the Section 301 tariffs. Historically, additional duties imposed by Section 301 have applied only to goods that originate from the People's Republic of China. Goods originating from Hong Kong have been exempt from the tariff since their implementation in 2018. 

Hong Kong’s status still remains uncertain as prior to Pompeo’s Hong Kong announcement, the President still had the power to sign an executive order to expand the tariffs, but a new law implemented last year requires the Secretary of State to certify that Honk Kong has remained sufficiently "autonomous" to warrant its special treatment, which includes trade practices. 

If your company is importing from Hong Kong and are interested in finding out how this could impact your imports, please reach out to our Trade team at CWTSConsulting@craneww.com. Crane Trade Services can provide a Section 301 analysis to assess what the potential added duties could be with these changes and also assess mitigation strategies that your company could benefit from.