China's request for WTO consultation launched a dispute process that could result in a ruling that Mr Trump's duties violated trade rules in the same manner that a 2020 ruling by the global trade body found that his first-term China tariffs broke trade regulations.
Subsequently, the first Trump administration stipulated that goods made in Hong Kong for export to the US needed to be labelled as made in China, ending one of Hong Kong's longstanding competitive advantages as a trading hub.
Hong Kong chief secretary Eric Chan said on Tuesday the financial hub will file a complaint with the trade body over the US “completely ignoring” the city's status as a separate customs territory.
However, Beijing's imposition of sweeping national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 and a massive crackdown on dissent prompted the US to end the city's special status, escalating tensions between China.
In its complaint to the WTO, Beijing accused the US of making "unfounded and false allegations" about China’s role in the flow of fentanyl to the US to justify the tariffs.
