US tariff war ‘will not kill Hong Kong’, Trade Development Council says

The US trade war “will not kill Hong Kong” given the city’s increasingly diversified exports in recent years, with only 3 per cent of goods expected to be affected, the Trade Development Council has said.

Council director of research Irina Fan Yuen-yee said on Saturday that only about half of Hong Kong’s exports to the US were subject to tariffs, accounting for only about 3 per cent of the city’s total exports.

“The impact of the trade war on Hong Kong, in general, is a bit painful but will not kill us,” she said at a briefing during a Beijing-organised media tour to promote the Greater Bay Area that groups leading cities in southern China.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has imposed cumulative tariffs of 145 per cent on all Chinese goods over several escalatory rounds, with the White House also revealing the figure to be as high as 245 per cent for some goods.

But Trump announced on April 11 an exemption from the “reciprocal tariffs” on several categories of electronic products from China that would last a month.

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‘Fake news’: Chinese officials dismiss claims of US trade war consultations

‘Fake news’: Chinese officials dismiss claims of US trade war consultations

Fan said Hong Kong had reduced its dependence on the US, with exports to the country dropping by about 9 to 10 per cent from 2017 to 2024, during which overall exports increased by 17 per cent.