U.S. discriminatory trade policy against Hong Kong products violates WTO rules: HKSAR gov't

Hong Kong (China) May 29: The United States has violated rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) by adopting a new requirement on origin marking for Hong Kong products, the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) said Friday.
The HKSAR government has filed its first written submission to a panel of the WTO dispute settlement body, saying that the U.S. requirement is inconsistent with multiple WTO covered agreements, including the Agreement on Rules of Origin, the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.
Edward Yau, secretary for commerce and economic development of the HKSAR government, said the U.S. requirement is discriminatory, unjust, and politically-driven, stressing that it is "unrelated to a proper determination of the place of origin of the goods as required under the various WTO covered agreements."
Hong Kong as a separate customs territory uses the name "Hong Kong, China" to participate in international organizations and international trade agreements, which is widely recognized and respected by the international community, he said, noting that the status is on par with that of other WTO members.
The U.S. requirement to mark goods originating in Hong Kong as originating in another WTO member has increased the cost and complexity of exportation for Hong Kong enterprises by forcing them to segregate their products based on different markets of destination, putting them at a competitive disadvantage vis-a-vis other WTO members, he said.
The HKSAR government first brought the case to the WTO dispute settlement body in January and the director general of the WTO appointed a panel to examine the dispute on April 29.
The panel is considering written submissions by Hong Kong, the United States, and 13 other WTO members who have reserved their rights to join as third parties to the dispute.
Source: Xinhua