HK mulls response to US sanctions

Commerce chief: Move could affect global multilateral trading system

The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is considering countermeasures against the United States for the sanctions it imposed on the city and will follow up if there is any need to do so, the city’s commerce secretary said.

The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah told journalists on Friday that Hong Kong should stand up against such “unreasonable” and “unjust” measures.

However, the Hong Kong government would handle the situation in a prudent manner, he continued.

“It may not be appropriate for me, at this point of time, to unveil the whole (countermeasure) plan because we are also seeing what other measures the US is rolling out.

“It’s a matter not just for Hong

Kong, but a matter for the entire multilateral trading system (of the world),” Yau said.

The US recently announced a series of sanctions on Hong Kong over the city’s new National Security Law, including requiring the city’s exports to the US to be labelled as “Made in China”, and suspending or terminating three bilateral agreements with the city.

The US Department of State announced last Wednesday the suspension or termination of agreements for the surrender of fugitive offenders, the transfer of sentenced persons and the agreement concerning tax exemptions from the income derived from the international operation of ships.

The major reason why Hong Kong is opposed to the unilateral measure by the US is that the right to use the product label “Made in Hong Kong” is not given by any trading partners on an individual basis, but conferred by the city’s status as a separate customs territory, which is clearly stipulated in Hong Kong’s Basic Law and recognised by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Yau said.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said last Tuesday that the city would lodge a complaint to the WTO against the US’ new requirement on the city’s exports.

Yau voiced his support for the move, noting that this would be a due process for the city to protect its own right, to fulfil its own duty as a law-abiding member and to safeguard the WTO’s rule-based system.

Such a dispute between the US and Hong Kong might have implications for other WTO members, Yau added.

“Imagine some of the members being mistreated in the same way, what would they do?

“We certainly take exception to measures taken by the US because it is hurting Hong Kong, and it’s contrary to the bilateral relations and the two interconnected economies,” he said.

Yau also said he understood the concerns of many foreign investors and chambers in Hong Kong, but he had confidence in investors deciding that the city still had a business-friendly environment.

Recalling last year’s social unrest, he said some foreign companies and chambers came to him and expressed their concern.

When the pandemic started early this year, the same group of people came to him again, saying they felt comfortable being in Hong Kong and that the city was a safer place than their home countries.

Instead of opting to leave the city, the same group of investors came to him again recently to express their opinions in the face of the growing hostility by the US, Yau said.

He added that containing the Covid-19 pandemic was the Hong Kong government’s current priority.

“Only when the world is clear of the coronavirus can the city stand a chance of reviving its economy,” he said. — China Daily/ANN