China-US trade truce offers certainty, relief for Hong Kong exporters

Hong Kong exporters breathed a collective sigh of relief following the recent breakthrough in Sino-US trade talks, saying they could now focus on their business plans for the coming year.

On Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping and US counterpart Donald Trump reached a consensus to dial down tensions and put on hold a number of thorny issues such as pausing tariffs for a year until August next year.

With the truce, a 10 per cent so-called reciprocal tariffs the United States imposed on imports from Hong Kong and mainland China will remain in effect until August.

Anthony Lam Sai-ho, chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, one of the largest business chambers in the city, said the meeting provided the sector with a clear picture of the tariff cost they should expect.

“Before that, they did not know how much they would be charged for the tariff when the goods were on the way amid the quarrel between the two countries,” he said.

He urged the sector to explore and diversify their market in the coming year of the truce to further reduce reliance on the US market.