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Hong Kong economy
Hong KongPolitics

Hong Kong hits out at US over ‘Made in China’ rule for exports after meeting in Geneva

  • US undermining integrity of rules-based multilateral trading system embodied by WTO, government spokesman says
  • WTO in December called for Washington to drop labelling rule, triggering appeal now stuck in limbo after US blocks appointments of judges to panel

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A panel of WTO judges called on Washington last December to drop its requirement that Hong Kong’s US-bound exports be labelled as “Made in China”. Photo: AFP
Kahon Chan
The US should stop using a World Trade Organization forum to attack Hong Kong and scrap a controversial requirement that its exports to the country be marked as “Made in China”, the city’s government has said.

A day after a meeting of the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) in Geneva, where the labelling rule was discussed, the government issued a sharply worded statement accusing the United States of “completely ignoring and distorting the facts”.

A panel of WTO judges last December called on Washington to drop the requirement, saying it was inconsistent with the organisation’s rules for origin marking.

“By repeatedly making distorted and self-serving political assertions at DSB meetings in connection with the panel ruling, the US is undermining the integrity of the rules-based multilateral trading system embodied by the WTO,” a government spokesman said.

According to Hong Kong’s trade office in Geneva, the origin marking dispute has been discussed at DSB meetings three times since last December. Photo: Xinhua
According to Hong Kong’s trade office in Geneva, the origin marking dispute has been discussed at DSB meetings three times since last December. Photo: Xinhua

Washington said at the time the move was “due to the determination that Hong Kong is no longer sufficiently autonomous to justify differential treatment in relation to China”.

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