Headquarters of the World Trade Organization in Geneva on February 5, 2024.
Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images
Chief Secretary Eric Chan said Tuesday that Hong Kong will file a complaint with the World Trade Organization for the recent U.S. tariffs imposed on the city recently, claiming that the United States completely ignores the city’s status as an independent customs territory.
“This is absolutely inconsistent with WTO rules. Of course, they completely ignore that Hong Kong is an independent customs territory,” Chan, a second official in the Chinese city, told reporters.
“We will file a complaint with the WTO about such an unreasonable arrangement,” he said.
Chen is responding to the U.S. decision to impose 10% tariffs on goods at Asian financial hubs as U.S. President Donald Trump targets Chinese imports.
Last week, the U.S. Postal Service suspended all inbound mail and parcels from China and Hong Kong, and then revoked the decision soon after.
The move to stop accepting Chinese and Hong Kong parcels has caused chaos and confusion among retailers and said how to deal with U.S. tariffs.
Chen said: “I can only say that policy is currency.”
Trump’s move also included closing “de minimis” taxes for parcels worth less than $800 and claiming to stop fentanyl and precursor chemicals from entering the United States.
Hong Kong has long been known as a free and open trade center, but China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020, which drew criticism from the United States and led to it termination of the former British colony’s special status under U.S. law. , escalating tensions between China and the United States
Subsequently, the United States stipulated that goods exported to the United States in Hong Kong need to be marked as goods made in China, ending one of Hong Kong’s long-term competitive advantages as a trading center.