'Made In HK' Label Fight Upholds SAR's Status: Govt

Commerce Minister Algernon Yau said on Thursday that the government's successful challenge to a US ban on the "Made in Hong Kong" label is a matter of upholding the SAR's separate status in the World Trade Organisation.

A WTO panel ruled on Wednesday that Washington's decision that products from the SAR must be declared as coming from China breaches global trade rules.

Yau said Hong Kong sends only a tiny fraction of its exports to the US, but the value of the trade is not the point.

"The total export is only about 0.1 percent of the total export from Hong Kong, which amounts to about HK$7.4 billion, which is very minimal," he told reporters on Thursday.

"The whole spirit is to uphold the status and position of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the WTO as a separate customs territory."

Yau added that Washington's labelling requirement has "confused" customers and caused "unnecessary concerns" for manufacturers.

Washington has described the WTO's ruling as "flawed" and has made clear that it does not intend to change its labelling rule.

But the Hong Kong official said the WTO findings will be "passed to adopt" if the US does not appeal within 60 days.

"There is an appeal mechanism available in WTO...and if they appeal then we will pay attention to the development and progress and we will consider what action to be taken next," he said.

The Federation of Hong Kong Industries (FHKI), meanwhile, said the ruling demonstrated "righteousness and justice" and protected the interests of consumers.

It said Washington's labelling requirement "has a negative impact on Hong Kong manufacturers."

"In FHKI’s view, 'Made in Hong Kong' is an important brand for Hong Kong, which represents high quality products that offer customers confidence," the federation said in a statement.