Hong Kong to take US to WTO over Trump tariff

Additional US duties ignore city’s status as a separate customs territory from mainland China, government says

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US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order imposing a 10 per cent tariff on Chinese imports, including those from Hong Kong. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 4:54pm, 7 Feb 2025Updated: 5:27pm, 7 Feb 2025

The Hong Kong government has announced it will proceed with launching a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) in response to the United States’ decision to levy an additional 10 per cent tariff on products from the city.

A government spokesman said on Friday that trade measures announced by US President Donald Trump were “grossly inconsistent” with WTO rules and ignored the city’s status as a separate customs territory from mainland China.

“The HKSAR Government will formally launch procedures in accordance with the WTO dispute settlement mechanism against the US’ unreasonable measures to defend our legitimate rights,” the spokesman said.

He added that Hong Kong was a “staunch supporter” of the rules-based multilateral trading system, and that the government had urged the US to take immediate action to “rectify its wrongdoing”.

Additional US duties ignore Hong Kong’s status as a separate customs territory from the mainland, a government spokesman has said. Photo: Jelly Tse

On February 1, less than two weeks into his second term, Trump signed an executive order imposing a 10 per cent tariff on Chinese imports, including those from Hong Kong. The measures came into effect on Tuesday.