On Wednesday Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Congress that Hong Kong will no longer be considered autonomous from China. This could jeopardize Hong Kong’s favorable trade relationship with the US.

Under the 2019 Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, Pompeo had to assess by the end of May 2020 whether Hong Kong has retained sufficient autonomy from China to keep its special trading status - a set of privileges afforded to Hong Kong but denied to mainland China, including the export of sensitive technologies, free exchange between the US and Hong Kong dollar, and exemption from visa limitations for Chinese citizens.