United States President Donald Trump’s move to end Hong Kong’s special status under US law will hurt the country’s business interests, the American Chamber of Commerce’s local branch said.

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“We regret the revocation of Hong Kong’s special trade status with the United States under the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act, which we believe will hurt American businesses in Hong Kong,” AmCham Hong Kong said in a statement on Friday.

We regret the revocation of Hong Kong’s special trade status with the United States under the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act, which we believe will hurt American businesses in Hong Kong.

 AmCham Hong Kong

Trump ordered an end to Hong Kong’s special status with the US earlier this week, signing legislation that would sanction Chinese officials responsible for what they claimed to be the “erosion of HK’s autonomy”. The move would have a wide-ranging impact on everything from US exports and Hong Kong resident visa applications to how financial institutions in Hong Kong deal with Chinese clients.

China denounced the action as a “gross interference” in the country’s internal affairs and vowed to impose sanctions on US officials and entities.

Referring to a recent survey of its members, AmCham said Trump’s move would further harm the city’s reputation, which has been hit over the last year by often-violent protests and the COVID-19 pandemic. “We fear revocation of Hong Kong’s special status with the US will only deepen that pessimism,” the chamber said.

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The Trump administration is cranking up attacks on China as the president seeks to strengthen his position in what appears to be an uphill re-election fight against former vice-president Joe Biden. The US has escalated disputes over everything from the 5G ambitions of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co to the South China Sea.