HKSAR Government expresses strong disapproval of US's further imposition of so-called reciprocal tariff on products of Hong Kong

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) today (April 9) expressed strong disapproval of and discontent with the United States (US)'s further imposition of the so-called reciprocal tariff, and the elimination of the duty-free de minimis treatment for covered goods from Hong Kong as well as increase of the tariff for mails containing goods to the US starting from May 2.

A spokesman for the HKSAR Government said, "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."

The spokesman said that the US's imposition of the so-called reciprocal tariff against Hong Kong that has never implemented any tariffs is totally illogical and ungrounded, fully showing that it is a bullying act for suppressing its competitors.

The US will eliminate the duty-free de minimis treatment for postal items despatched from Hong Kong to the US starting from May 2, and has been continuously changing its policies unilaterally, causing a lot of confusion and inconvenience to the public. For sending items to the US, the public in Hong Kong should be prepared to pay exorbitant fees due to the US's unreasonable and bullying acts. Hongkong Post will definitely 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.

The HKSAR Government will continue to closely monitor and assess any unilateral measures of the US that are inconsistent with fair trade and take actions to defend Hong Kong's legitimate interests, including filing of 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.

Ends/Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Issued at HKT 21:32