The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Sar) government has just released a press release. The Hong Kong SAR government today (April 3) strongly opposes and is dissatisfied with the so-called“Reciprocal” tariffs imposed by the United States on Hong Kong products, with effect from 2 May, the small duty-free treatment of Hong Kong products will be abolished and customs duties levied.
Hong Kong SAR government, file photo, source: Hong Kong Sing Tao Net
According to the press release, a spokesman for the Hong Kong government said: “The US practices are outrageous, violate world trade organisation (WTO) rules and willfully undermine the multilateral trading system, which is the cornerstone of international trade. “The HKSAR Government once again sternly demands that the US withdraw its so-called tariff reciprocity measures.”
The spokesman said that Hong Kong is a free port and has always supported and pursued free trade. It has never imposed tariffs on all imported goods, including US products. The US has imposed tariffs on Hong Kong products on the grounds of so-called“Reciprocal” tariffs, go against common sense logic. Under the“One Country, Two Systems of origin” principle, we are a separate customs territory with an effective system for the import and export of goods, including the Certificate of Origin system, trade declaration and cargo manifest requirements, and has been taking stringent law enforcement action accordingly. The fact that the United States claimed to impose so-called reciprocal tariffs on Hong Kong products in order to reduce the risk of transshipment and tax evasion is divorced from the facts highlights its bullying behavior in cracking down on its rivals.
“In the 2023, the United States is our third largest trading partner with bilateral merchandise trade of US $60.3 billion,” the spokesman said. “The US has run a $271.5 bn trade surplus with Hong Kong over the past 10 years, the largest of any of its global trading partners, and its actions are purely unilateral and protectionist to the detriment of others.”
As for the small duty-free arrangements for items sent from Hong Kong to the United States, the United States has repeatedly made unilateral changes. Hong Kong post requests the United States postal authorities to clarify them as soon as possible so as not to cause inconvenience to the public, hong Kong post will temporarily maintain mail service to the United States from now until May 2, but will not collect the so-called customs duties.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government said that, in general, it would continue to closely examine and assess the unilateral conduct of the United States in violation of fair trade and take measures to defend Hong Kong’s legitimate rights and interests, including lodging complaints under the WTO dispute settlement mechanism.