Hong Kong to take US to WTO over Trump tariff, but penalty expected to remain

Commerce chief also meets business chambers to discuss ways to cope with tariffs and called on them to ‘unite’ against ‘unreasonable actions’ by US

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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: 10:07pm, 7 Feb 2025

The Hong Kong government will proceed with launching a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the United States’ decision to levy an additional 10 per cent tariff on products from the city, an escalation analysts say is important but unlikely to sway the Trump administration.

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah also met several of the city’s business chambers on Friday to discuss ways to cope with the tariffs and called on the groups to “unite” against the “unreasonable actions” by the US.

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

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

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

Additional US duties ignore Hong Kong’s status as a separate customs entity 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 an additional 10 per cent tariff on Chinese imports, including those from Hong Kong. The measures came into effect on Tuesday.