WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
The US House of Representatives has passed legislation to back protesters in Hong Kong and send a warning to China about human rights, sending two bills to the White House where President Donald Trump is expected to sign them into law What next? The state department must certify at least once a year that Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to qualify for the special US trading consideration Officials responsible for human rights violations in Hong Kong could also be sanctioned under the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. It could alter the nature of relations between the United States and Hong Kong. Beijing promised Hong Kong a ‘high degree of autonomy’ for 50 years when it regained sovereignty over the city in 1997, but protesters say freedoms have been steadily eroded. The Human Rights and Democracy Act would put Hong Kong’s autonomous status under closer scrutiny. The other bill would ban the export to Hong Kong of items such as tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets and stun guns. Effect of Leglislation From a business perspective, one of the most important elements of Hong Kong’s special status has been that it is considered a separate customs and trading zone from China. That has meant, for instance, that trade war tariffs don’t apply to exports from Hong Kong. The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong has said that anything that changes the status of Hong Kong “would have a chilling effect not only on US trade and investment in Hong Kong but would send negative signals internationally about Hong Kong’s trusted position in the global economy.”