Hong kong Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in hong kong, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
Trade Agreements-Hong Kong & Macau
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Honk Kong

Hong Kong is a founding member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) as well as a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).  Despite mainland China’s accession to the WTO, Hong Kong plays a key role for U.S. firms wishing to expand exports to mainland China.  Hong Kong is a trading hub for mainland China and the region; its trading firms are experts at promoting imported products and services in mainland China.  Similarities in linguistic and cultural traditions have enabled Hong Kong traders to maximize opportunities for U.S. firms, particularly for small- and medium-sized enterprises and first-time exporters.

Hong Kong has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with mainland China, the CEPA, which provides tariff-free export to mainland China of Hong Kong-origin goods and preferential access for specific services sectors.  Please refer to CEPA website for more information.

Hong Kong has been actively seeking to expand its FTAs network in order to secure favorable conditions for Hong Kong’s goods and services to enter the Mainland and international markets. Please refer to Hong Kong’s FTAs website for more information.

Finally, Hong Kong is an APEC member economy and a participant in the APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) Scheme, which grants qualified business travelers streamlined immigration clearance.

Macau

A separate and roughly equivalent Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement was signed between mainland China and Macau in 2003.  While not as expansive as that of Hong Kong, it includes a number of areas where Macau-based firms are granted preferential access to the mainland market.  In addition, Macau signed a CEPA with Hong Kong in October 2017.  Under the CEPA framework, there is an investment agreement and an economic and technical cooperation agreement.  The investment agreement includes investment access, investment protection and investment facilitation.  The economic and technical co-operation agreement is aimed to encourage Macau to take a greater role in economic development across the region.  Please visit Macau CEPA agreements for more information.

 


 

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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