Hong Kong lashes out at US ‘Made in China’ labelling rule at the World Trade Organization
- Hong Kong formally protested US rules on export labelling at a meeting of the World Trade Organization’s General Council on Tuesday
- Washington ruled in August that Hong Kong shipments to the US will need to be stamped as Made in China effective November 9
The “formal intervention” was made during a session on Tuesday of the WTO’s General Council, the Geneva institution’s highest-level decision-making body.
It comes after the Hong Kong government made an official written complaint to the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) in September, demanding Washington drop the new regulations, which were announced in August but have since been delayed until November 9.
Laurie Lo, Hong Kong’s permanent representative to the WTO, took to the floor to request the US drop the new labelling requirement, urging the country to “honour its commitment and responsibility as a WTO member” and ensure it complied with WTO rules.
Hong Kong, China expresses our strong objection to the revised origin marking requirement imposed by the US
“Hong Kong, China expresses our strong objection to the revised origin marking requirement imposed by the US,” Lo said in the statement.
“We have already written to request the US to withdraw such measure with immediate effect and invite the US for bilateral discussions with a view to resolving the matter in our mutual interests. Regrettably, the US has so far not withdrawn the measure.”
He added that if the US fails to “address our concerns over its revised origin marking requirement, Hong Kong, China is determined to defend its legitimate rights and interests in accordance with the dispute settlement procedure under the WTO”.