Yesterday, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) issued a new rule that requires importers to begin marking Hong Kong goods as “made in China” for purposes of 19 U.S.C. § 1304. Goods that are entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption into the United States after September 25, 2020 will be subject to the new requirements. The rule was issued pursuant to last month’s Executive Order (E.O.) on Hong Kong Normalization, which requires U.S. government agencies to update their regulations to eliminate the differential treatment between China and Hong Kong under U.S. international trade rules.

Importers should act now to ensure that subject imports are properly marked. As CBP notes in the rule notice, failure to comply with marking requirements will result in the imposition of a 10 percent ad valorem duty.