WTO: US ban on ‘Made in Hong Kong’ label breaches trade regulations

WASHINGTON, Dec 22 — The United States is flouting intercontinental trade principles by labelling imports from Hong Kong as those people from China, the Planet Trade Business dominated Wednesday, an outcome that Washington rejects.

The ruling addresses a conclusion under former president Donald Trump’s administration to mark Hong Kong merchandise with the “Made in China” stamp soon after Beijing imposed a sweeping safety regulation on the financial hub in 2020.

Trump retaliated by eradicating exclusive buying and selling privileges for Hong Kong, and US customs authorities afterwards claimed products created in the location would be marked to point out they have been manufactured in China as a substitute, sparking a grievance.

Hong Kong has argued that these kinds of a transfer ignores its status as a independent member of the WTO, violating trade rules.

On Wednesday, a panel set up by the WTO’s dispute settlement body claimed that the origin marking requirement was “not justified” underneath worldwide trade guidelines.

It included in a report that the US “has not shown that the problem at problem constitutes an crisis in intercontinental relations.”

The US’s labeling requirement also provides Hong Kong products and solutions “less favorable” remedy than others, the panel mentioned, adding that products of other nations bear their have identify relatively than that of yet another WTO member.

The end result drew a sharp response from Washington Wednesday, with US Trade Consultant spokesperson Adam Hodge saying the nation “strongly rejects the flawed interpretation and conclusions” of the panel report.

The US was responding to China’s “highly concerning actions,” threatening US nationwide protection passions, Hodge stated.

He included that the US does not strategy to eliminate the marking prerequisite as a outcome of the latest report.

“Issues of national safety simply cannot be reviewed in WTO dispute settlement, and the WTO has no authority to next-guess the means of a WTO Member to reply to what it considers a menace,” Hodge mentioned.

In the previous, Washington dealt with imports from Hong Kong in another way to goods from the rest of China, in recognition of its semi-autonomous position.

But previous President Trump vowed that this would alter soon after Beijing imposed the protection law to quell large and often violent professional-democracy protests in Hong Kong. — AFP