Govt decries US tariff measures, industries warn of E-commerce impact

The SAR government strongly opposes and deplores the US's imposition of reciprocal tariff duty on Hong Kong products and ends the duty-free de minimis exemption for cheap shipments from the city.

A spokesman for the government said the US's measure is hegemonism and unreasonable, which is grossly inconsistent with the relevant World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system and harms the interest of both parties. 

The government urges the US to take immediate action to rectify its wrongdoing and withdraw the tariff measures.

The comment came after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday that the imported goods from China and Hong Kong sent outside the international postal network and valued at or under US$800 would now be subject to all applicable duties.

Separately, the import and export trade industry warned that local e-commerce businesses will suffer after the US measures, which will take effect on May 2.

Willy Lin Sun-mo, Chairman of the Hong Kong Shippers' Council, noted that local businesses are attempting to source products outside the mainland to sustain their e-commerce brands in the short term. 

However, he acknowledged that most exports still come from China, even though some businesses planned to shift production to Southeast Asia before exporting to the US.

Lin also expressed concerns over the challenges of halving local companies' reliance on the massive US market and expanding into markets such as the Middle East.

In addition, he pointed out that setting up factories in the US would take at least a year or more to implement, while the rising costs are likely to be passed on to American consumers.