'Industry bracing for de minimis changes'
Stanley Lee said Hong Kong and mainland sellers have long expected the trade war to escalate and have been adjusting to potential changes. File photo: RTHK
The vice president of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Small and Medium Business said on Tuesday that while he believes the e-commerce industry will be negatively affected by the cancellation of the 'de minimis' trade exemption next month, it doesn't necessarily mean that US consumers will cancel orders all together.
Speaking on RTHK's Backchat programme, Stanley Lee said the cross-border e-commerce sector -- which has been flourishing for the past decade -- is bracing for impact, as the exemption that allows low-value packages worth less than US$800 to enter the US free of duties, expires on May 2.
'For the end users in the United States, no one will buy everyday items over US$800. So that means all the sellers in Hong Kong and buyers in the US have not had to pay any tariffs over the past ten years,' he said, adding that while some US buyers may no longer purchase from Hong Kong or the mainland, he doesn't expect trade to fall too significantly.
'Is there really going to be no trade anymore? Not really… if the supply chain is still in China, if they [US buyers] don't have a choice, even if you raise the price, they still want to buy [from China], just like during the Covid period when prices were doubled.'
Lee added that Hong Kong and mainland sellers have long expected the trade war to escalate and have been adjusting to potential changes.
However, he said it is the uncertainty and confusion over US president Donald Trump's ever-changing tariff plans that are making it difficult for traders to manoeuvre.
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