Hong Kong exports up in first quarter amid businesses' preemptive moves to beat US tariffs, minister says

HKFP

21-05-2025

Hong Kong's exports rose in the first quarter of this year, as businesses raced to preempt US tariffs before they came into force, the city's transport and logistics minister has said.
Mable Chan, secretary for transport and logistics, said during a legislative meeting on Wednesday that Hong Kong's air exports rose by 3.2 per cent year-on-year to 1.16 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2025, while sea exports increased by 2.7 per cent year-on-year to about 3.4 million standard containers in the same period.
'We believe the increases were largely due to businesses rushing to ship their products before the so-called 'reciprocal tariffs' came into effect,' Chan told lawmakers in Cantonese.
China 'has recently reached an agreement with the US that both countries will slash tariffs for 90 days. We believe businesses will also try to ship their goods in this period,' she added.
'But we do not expect the increases [in total exports] to last.'
US President Donald Trump imposed 'reciprocal tariffs' on around 90 trading partners in April, hitting China the hardest. Hong Kong, a former British colony that has long been considered a free trade hub, found itself caught in the crossfire of the US-China trade war.
The city's officials have called the US policy 'bullying' tactics, but have also vowed not to impose retaliatory tariffs.
After weeks of tit-for-tat moves, the US and China agreed earlier this month to lower tariffs for 90 days, reducing their triple-digit duties by 115 percentage points. The US reduced its levies on Chinese imports to 30 per cent from the previous 145 per cent, while China's duties on US imports dropped to 10 per cent, from 125 per cent.
Chan's remarks were in response to lawmaker Frankie Yick, who asked whether the government had assessed the impact of the US-China trade war on Hong Kong and whether it had measures to support the city's logistics sector.
Chan said the government would closely monitor the development and provide assistance to the local logistics sector.
The government is also exploring other markets to reduce the city's reliance on the US, she added.
Those markets include the Middle East, Southeast Asia, countries participating in China's One Belt One Road initiative, and cities in the Greater Bay Area, she said.