US action to relabel HK exports 'unfair, uncivilized'

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's top commerce official condemned on Monday a US move to force the city to relabel all of its exports to the United States as being "made in China" as "unfair and uncivilized".

The new rule demanding that Hong Kong relabel its exports to the US will take effect on Nov 9, right after the US presidential election on Nov 3.

Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah said that the measure is unnecessary, unreasonable and malicious. He pointed out that the action is to threaten or attack Hong Kong's special status as a separate customs territory under the World Trade Organization.

On Friday, the US Customs and Border Protection announced that enforcement of the new rule would be postponed for 45 days. The rule was originally scheduled to take effect on Sept 25.

The HKSAR is a separate member of the WTO and enjoys a special status as a separate customs territory under "one country, two systems".Products exported from Hong Kong are marked as "Made in Hong Kong".

Yau, speaking in a webinar on how the city's businesses can cope with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, reiterated that the new US measure is unreasonable and inconsistent with WTO rules.

He said the US wanted "made in Hong Kong" to disappear, which was "unfair and uncivilized".

The HKSAR will definitely take action to protect its rights and interests, Yau said, and that it would take the matter to the WTO.

Willy Lin Sun-mo, chairman of the Hong Kong Productivity Council, said the new rule has caused considerable confusion as it involves international labeling requirements and companies are perplexed about the risk of breaching trade-description rules.

Regarding the uncertainty and confusion, the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong recently said it does not rule out the possibility of suspending all of Hong Kong's exports to the US.

In 2019, the total value of "made in Hong Kong" products exported to the US was HK$3.7 billion ($480 million), less than 0.1 percent of the city's total exports of goods. The exported products are mainly jewelry, food and electronic goods.