US to Appeal WTO Dispute Ruling Over Hong Kong Origin Marking Requirement
The U.S. will appeal a World Trade Organization dispute panel ruling that found its origin marking requirement for goods from Hong Kong violated global trade rules. Submitting its notification of appeal during the Jan. 27 meeting of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body, the U.S. said it was taking the matter to the defunct Appellate Body concurrent with separate panel rulings that said the Section 232 national security tariffs also violated WTO commitments.
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In December, the panel said the U.S. decision to require goods made in Hong Kong to be marked as made in China violated the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (see 2212220029). The U.S. failed to show its move was made in response to an "emergency in international relations," the panel ruled. The U.S. decried the panel's report as flawed, arguing the Hong Kong-origin measures are an extension of U.S. national security interests and such decisions are not subject to WTO review.
The appeal will join the U.S. appeal of the panel rulings on the Section 232 tariffs (see 2301270030), which will remain in limbo given the Appellate Body's inability to hear cases. With the U.S. unwilling to seat members on that body over institutional concerns, it remains inoperable.