Oops! Dutiable imports in Hong Kong!
HKSAR is a free port. There is no tariff on general imports. However, there is duty on liquors, tobacco, hydrocarbon oil and methyl alcohol. This is prepaid by the seller and included in the price, so it often goes unnoticed. Duties on these goods raise revenue for the general administration and for development projects, while at the same time help to keep general tax levels low.
The Customs and Excise Department is responsible for enforcing the law for collection of duties and protection of revenue.
For tobacco, hydrocarbon oil and methyl alcohol, duties are charged at specific rates per unit quantity. For liquors, duty is assessed at different percentages of their values on the basis of three different categories defined broadly according to alcoholic strength. The duty rates prescribed in the Schedule to the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (Cap. 109) are extracted as below :
Granted, but that doesn't really affect my point since it doesn't contradict it (you're not going to try to claim that a duty on liquors sustains their economy, are you?). I said Hong Kong doesn't have "higher tariffs and duties" and they don't:
Hong Kong is basically duty-free. The World Trade Organization reports that Hong Kong's weighted average tariff rate in 2003 (the most recent year for which WTO data are available) was 0 percent. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, "Non-tariff barriers such as labeling requirements, standards, etc. are minimal." Based on the revised trade factor methodology, Hong Kong's trade policy score is unchanged.
http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/country.cfm?id=HongKong