Hong Kong (China) commits to eliminate 100% of tariffs on ASEAN goods as soon as the Agreement comes into effect. This commitment, although very liberal, does not fundamentally change the status because Hong Kong (China) has now eliminated taxes on almost 100% of the Tariff lines.

Vietnam commits to eliminate tariffs for 75% of tariff lines according to the 10-year schedule, 10% of tariff lines according to the 14-year schedule. This level can be said to be much more modest than Vietnam's tariff commitments in ASEAN (ATIGA).

Therefore, the meaning of AHKFTA is hardly in tariffs but mainly in utilizing Hong Kong (China) as a hub of logistics and financial transshipment.

General rules

A good will be considered originating (ASEAN or Hong Kong, China) if:

• Case 1: wholly obtained or being wholly produced in the territory of the exporting Party; or
• Case 2: Produced entirely in the territory of the exporting Party from only originating materials from ASEAN or Hong Kong, China; or
• Case 3: Not being wholly obtained or not being produced entirely in the territory of the exporting Party but satisfying the requirements for rules of origin specified in the Agreement.

For case 3, the non-originating good in the Agreement is determined based on the following criteria:

• The Regional Value Content (RVC) criterion requires that at least 40% of the final product value originate in the AHKFTA Member States.
• Criteria for change tariff classification (CTC) requires that the product must have HS different from the HS of imported materials (according to the specific rules of origin).

Specific product rules

In addition to the general principles for determining the origin of goods, AHKFTA also stipulates specific rules for products in Appendix 3.2.

Cumulation

The AHKFTA allows for cumulation, i.e. originating materials of a member country used in the production of a good in another member country are treated as originating materials of the member country where the trade takes place processing of such goods.

Regarding services, Vietnam's commitment to open the service market in the AHKFTA is basically same the level in the WTO.

The investment commitment also reiterates the principles of conduct and protection for foreign investment similar to FTAs between ASEAN and its partners. The most notable commitment in the AHKFTA is the principle of fair and equal treatment (FET) for foreign investors, a principle emphasized in Vietnam's recent FTAs (CPTPP, EVFTA).