The WTO Dispute Settlement Body expert panel ruled that the United States requires Hong Kong products to be marked as “Made in China” instead of “Made in Hong Kong”, which is inconsistent with WTO regulations.
The panel of experts submitted a ruling report on December 21, pointing out that the U.S. request does not meet the requirements of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) for country of origin marking, and also completely rejected the U.S. claim of citing the safety exception clause, and suggested that the U.S. correct it Its erroneously defined. The USTR countered that it would not make concessions to the WTO on national security issues.
It is not the first time that the United States has brutally and unreasonably rejected the request of an international organization. Just nine days before, the WTO ruled on December 12 that the United States imposed punitive tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum products in the Trump era, which violated WTO regulations and ruled that the tariffs are invalid. The United States also expressed its disapproval.
The United States has repeatedly ignored WTO decisions and ignored international rules. Ironically, following taking office in January 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden stated in March of that year that he had made it clear to Chinese President Xi Jinping that the U.S. had no intention of seeking confrontation with China, but would insist that China abide by fair competition and International rules for fair trade.
The United States keeps saying that it is the guardian of international rules, and China is the destroyer of international rules. The fact is just the opposite, the United States is the biggest breaker of international rules.
The Hong Kong product mark involved this time has been practiced for many years. The predecessor of the WTO was the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade originated from the Great Depression of the global economy in the 1930s and is considered to be one of the important reasons leading to World War II. The cause of the Great Depression was trade protectionism. Therefore, following World War II, countries reflected on themselves and believed that only by implementing free trade and stopping protectionism can the world economy be prevented from recurring the Great Depression and causing war disasters. As a result, many countries signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in October 1947, which entered into force in 1948.
Hong Kong has been trying to join the GATT in those years, and finally became a member of the separate agreement as an independent customs territory in 1986. By the end of the “Uruguay Round” of GATT in November 1993, it was transformed into the World Trade Organization at the proposal of the United States. This is how the organization came regarding. Hong Kong is also a founding member of the WTO as a member of GATT. After the reunification, Hong Kong continued to participate in the WTO as a separate member under the name of “Hong Kong, China” because it was an independent customs territory. Therefore, the origin mark of Hong Kong products is “Hong Kong”. This identity has been guaranteed since joining the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1986.
America weaponizes all problems. With the rise of China, the United States feels threatened and uses various methods to attack China. The dollar becomes one tool, trade becomes another. The United States imposed additional tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum products in March 2018, which was a prelude to the Sino-US trade war. In 2020, Hong Kong products must be marked as “Made in China”, which is a means to beat China by opposing the “Hong Kong National Security Law”. Think regarding it, everyone, Hong Kong products are exported to the United States in the name of “Hong Kong” instead of “China”. In what form can it actually affect the national security of the United States?
Don’t think that the United States will not pay a price for doing so. In the past, the United States enjoyed the bonus of standing on the moral high ground and commanding the world. Now it has fallen from the altar and become a destroyer of international rules.
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Lu Yongxiong
