Hong Kong is threatening a new complaint against the United States. Officials say the United States completely ignored Hong Kong’s status as a separate customs territory when imposing new tariffs on China. Hong Kong will take the United States to the World Trade Organization over the issue, Chief Secretary Eric Chan said.
Eric Chan stated that the U.S’s complete disregard for Hong Kong’s status as a separate customs territory is “completely inconsistent with World Trade Organization rules.”
The move is in response to the U.S. imposing a 10% tariff on goods imported from the Asian financial hub. Last week, the U.S. Postal Service suspended all packages and mail from China and Hong Kong, but quickly reversed the decision. The move has caused some confusion among retailers and express delivery companies about how to deal with the U.S. tariffs.
Hong Kong has long been known as an open and free trade hub, but China’s 2020 imposition of a national defense law on Hong Kong has drawn criticism from the United States. The United States has forced China to end the special status granted to the former British colony under U.S. law, straining relations between the two countries.
In the wake of the move, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but declined to provide details. Trump said they have a “very good personal relationship.” The 47th U.S. president and Xi Jinping spoke before Trump returned to office and discussed issues such as Taiwan, TikTok, trade and more.
Washington and Beijing have had a tense relationship for years, with issues ranging from trade tariffs and cybersecurity to Taiwan, Hong Kong, human rights and the origins of COVID-19. How China-US relations develop during Trump’s second term will depend on the responses from both sides and from countries around the world.
