Trump acts rather swiftly: Revokes spl status to Hong Kong, terminates US ties with WHO

US President Donald Trump on Friday put his 'China action plan' on faster track and announced two major decisions --- severing all American ties with the World Health Organisation and directed his government to deprive Hong Kong its 'special status' as a Free City. 

President Trump said the United States is severing all ties with the World Health Organisation (WHO) --which was lately being also described as the Wuhan Health Organisation. Trump also announced other steps intended to punish that group and China for what he dubbed a "cover up" of the coronavirus outbreak on Chinese soil.

"The world deserves answers," the President said about WHO and Chinese officials' actions when the Covid-19 virus went public in China – then infected millions across the world.

"....China's pattern of misconduct is well known........The plain facts cannot be overlooked or swept aside.The world is now suffering (because of) Chinese government. Chinese cover up of the 'Wuhan Virus' allowed the disease to spread all over the world".

He blamed Chinese officials for, in his words, having "pressured the World Health Organisation to mislead the world" about the virus.

The US government will now 'investigate' whether companies owned or run by the communist Chinese regime should be delisted from US.securities markets.

Trump indicated that funding for the WHO would be now redirected to other public health efforts around the world because of WHO's 'deliberate lies' and propaganda about the Wuhan coronavirus.

On April 15, President Trump had said - "With the outbreak of the COVID-19, we have deep concerns whether America's generosity has been put to the best use possible. The reality is that the WHO failed to adequately obtain, vet and share information in a timely and transparent fashion". He had also then ordered halting America's funding of up to USD 500 million annually to the World Health Organization.
The US had blamed WHO for "severely mismanaging and covering up" the spread of the deadly coronavirus when it first emerged in China.

The novel coronavirus, which originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei province in November, has so far killed at least 357,736 there have been 5,704,736 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally.
It has spread across 175 plus countries.

Notably, India is among the 190 member states of the WHO. It has backed the resolution for an international investigation into the origin of the pandemic,
World Health Organization (WHO) developments and now the US actions have shown it could be left 'isolated', licking its wounds.

Trump's decision on Hong Kong will leave adverse impact on trade front.

Media reports say - the US recognizes Hong Kong as a unique customs territory, which means it has been largely spared the upheaval of the US-China trade war.
A former British colony Hong Kong, it may be pointed out, is one of the United States' biggest export markets and it has a zero tariff rate on U.S. imports.

About five years before Britain handed control of Hong Kong to China on July 1, 1997, the US policymakers agreed to continue to effectively treat the territory as a separate entity from China beyond that date.

Under the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, the U.S. accords Hong Kong a 'special status; as a part of China and agreements governing a range of interactions.

Notably yet again - "any sanctions are a double-edged sword that will not only harm the interests of Hong Kong but also significantly those of the US," the Hong Kong government has said. 

Reports say from 2009 to 2018, the US trade surplus with Hong Kong was the biggest among all its trading partners, totalling $297bn of merchandise with 1,300 American firms are based in the city.