Gov’t condemns US’ “unreasonable” tariffs on Hong Kong goods

The government said that this move was a “bullying act for suppressing its competitors”.

The government expressed strong disapproval and discontent over the US's further imposition of reciprocal tariffs, the removal of duty-free de minimis treatment for Hong Kong goods, and the tariff increase on mail shipments to the US starting 2 May.

"The US no longer upholds free trade, arbitrarily undermining the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) jointly established by the international community, seriously impeding the multilateral trading system and globalisation process, and disrupting the global supply chain. Its measures are bullying and unreasonable,” a government spokesperson said.

The spokesman added that this so-called reciprocal tariff against Hong Kong which has never implemented any tariffs is illogical and ungrounded, fully showing that it is a “bullying act for suppressing its competitors”.

The US has been continuously changing its policies unilaterally, causing a lot of confusion and inconvenience to the public. To send items to the US, the public is also warned to pay exorbitant fees.

The government said that Hongkong Post will not collect any so-called tariffs on behalf of the US authorities. For now, Hongkong Post will temporarily maintain postal services to the US and will announce later the temporary suspension arrangement for the postal services to the US.

In addition, it will continue to closely monitor and assess any unilateral measures of the US and take action to defend Hong Kong's legitimate interests by filing a complaint in accordance with the WTO dispute settlement mechanism. 

“Meanwhile, we will maintain close liaison with the business community to jointly respond to the unreasonable coercion of the US,” the government added.