Hong Kong to file complaint with WTO over US tariffs / Photo: Mladen ANTONOV - AFP
-
The reluctant fame of Gazan photojournalist Motaz Azaiza
-
Global cocaine market hit new record highs: UNODC
-
Environment fears over $6 bn Indonesia EV battery project: NGOs
-
Dinusha shines on debut as Sri Lanka bowl out Bangladesh for 247
-
Migrant money from Russia a lifeline for Central Asia
-
Nigerian farms battle traffic, developers in downtown Abuja
-
Denmark to push for stricter EU migration policies
-
Nearly one-third of Pacific nation Tuvalu seeks Australian climate visa
-
White leads six Wallabies in Force side to face Lions, but no Beale
-
Thai cannabis stores fret as government moves to tighten rules on sales
-
Beale to spearhead First Nations and Pasifika side against Lions
-
Wimbledon: England's garden Grand Slam
-
Matcha: the Japanese tea taking over the world
-
Inter Milan, Monterrey join Dortmund in Club World Cup last 16
-
Trail Blazers pick China's Yang in NBA draft first-round surprise
-
Global matcha 'obsession' drinks Japan tea farms dry
-
US judge sides with Meta in AI training copyright case
-
'Battle of Seattle' as Inter down nine-man River to advance
-
China hosts Iranian, Russian defence ministers against backdrop of 'momentous change'
-
Stocks down with eyes on Mideast, dollar hit by Trump Fed comment
-
Syrian architect uses drone footage to help rebuild hometown
-
Verstappen hoping upgrades can boost title defence at Red Bull home race
-
After 'Dune,' Denis Villeneuve to helm next James Bond film
-
Thailand makes new proposal to restrict cannabis sales
-
Ecuador's most-wanted gang leader 'Fito' captured
-
Tunisia U-turn on phosphate plant sparks anger in blighted city
-
Trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs heads into closing arguments
-
Wallabies release Reds pair Faessler and Paisami for Lions clash
-
UN Charter: a founding document violated and ignored
-
Vinicius, Mbappe have to defend: Real Madrid's Alonso
-
US teen Cooper Flagg chosen by Mavericks with top pick in NBA draft
-
Guardiola says City must be ready to 'suffer' in Orlando heat
-
NBA studying uptick of Achilles injuries - Silver
-
On Its Centennial: The Occasion of Replacing the Kiswa of the Noble Kaaba Embodies the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Enduring Care for the Two Holy Mosques
-
Pacquiao 'hungry' for comeback after four-year layoff
-
'Job done': Sundowns coach proud despite Club World Cup exit
-
RFK Jr vaccine panel targets childhood vaccinations in first meeting
-
Tech giants' net zero goals verging on fantasy: researchers
-
Australia quicks hit back after strong West Indies bowling effort
-
Dortmund through to Club World Cup last 16, Fluminense deny Sundowns
-
Judge orders Trump admin to release billions in EV charging funds
-
Sale of NBA's $10 bn Lakers expected to close this year
-
US Fed proposes easing key banking rule
-
Nvidia hits fresh record while global stocks are mixed
-
Elliott-inspired England to play Germany in Under-21 Euros final
-
Gunmen kill 11 in crime-hit Mexican city
-
Mbappe absent from Real Madrid squad for Salzburg Club World Cup clash
-
Sainz opts out of race for FIA presidency
-
Shamar Joseph rips through Australia top order in first Test
-
Court rejects EDF complaint over Czech nuclear tender
Hong Kong to file complaint with WTO over US tariffs
Hong Kong will file a complaint with the World Trade Organization in response to heightened US tariffs on its goods, a government spokesperson said Friday, days after Beijing announced a similar move.
US President Donald Trump over the weekend launched the opening salvo in an escalating trade war with China, imposing a 10 percent tariff hike on goods coming from mainland Chinese and Hong Kong.
A spokesperson for the financial hub said Friday the Hong Kong government "will formally launch procedures in accordance with the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism against the US' unreasonable measures to defend our legitimate rights".
The US tariffs are "grossly inconsistent with the relevant WTO rules and ignore our status as a separate customs territory", the spokesperson said, adding that the government "strongly opposes" the measures.
Mainland China also filed a complaint with the WTO to defend its "legitimate rights and interests", its commerce ministry said.
After reverting to Chinese rule in 1997, Hong Kong has been run as a special administrative region and is classed as a separate customs territory.
It has been a WTO member for three decades.
Hong Kong's secretary for commerce and economic development Algernon Yau said Thursday that the tariffs "are not expected to have a large impact".
Goods exported from Hong Kong to the United States in 2023 were valued at around HK$6.1 billion ($780 million) and made up only 0.1 percent of the city's total exports, Yau added.
City officials have for years tread a fine line by insisting Hong Kong is a separate entity in international trade, but politically an "inalienable part" of China.
The United States removed Hong Kong's special trading privileges in 2020 after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on the former British colony to curb dissent.
Trump at the time said in an executive order that Hong Kong was "no longer sufficiently autonomous to justify differential treatment in relation to (China)".
L.AbuAli--SF-PST