Hong Kong manufacturers brace for higher costs as end of trade truce looms
Advertisement
Bryant Chan Wan-sing, president of toymaker the Wynnewood Corporation, said the sharp increase in orders during the truce was essentially a reinstatement of ones put on hold or cancelled when tariffs were introduced on US President Donald Trump's so-called Liberation Day on April 2.
'We have maximised what we can produce and ship during this 90-day window already. Any orders received before Liberation Day that cannot be shipped during the truce will remain on hold for now,' Chan said.
'We are not seeing additional new orders either. So there is indeed a sharp contrast post-truce period, one that is similar to [the] pre-truce period.'
Hong Kong exports surged by 15.5 per cent in May from a year ago, with economists attributing the increase to the front-loading of shipments by businesses racing to beat the deadline.
Advertisement
'Our company remains financially challenged with exposure to material cancellation or orders that continue to be put on hold,' Chan said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump hits Mexico and EU with 30% tariffs, escalating trade war
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that his administration would levy a 30 per cent tariff on goods from Mexico and the 27-nation European Union beginning August 1, targeting two of Washington's top trading partners after weeks spent trying to forge a more comprehensive deal. Trump's latest set of take-it-or-leave-it letters, addressed to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, could affect more than US$1 trillion in annual imports from the two partners and increase the risk of a global trade war. They cap a week that has seen over two dozen nations receive similar letters announcing US tariffs of up to 50 per cent. It is not exactly clear what factors Trump has used to reach the tariff levels he metes out, although he has often said that 'intuition' and his 'gut' drive his policy decisions. The president is inordinately focused on trade deficits and sees import taxes as an effective way to rejuvenate US manufacturing, foster US surpluses and stem illegal drug use. 'We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with The European Union, and have concluded that we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, Trade Deficits, engendered by your Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers,' the president told the EU on Saturday, describing the US trade deficit as a 'national security' threat. Donald Trump said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum's failure to curb fentanyl and migrant flows was a reason for imposing tariffs on the country. Photo: EPA-EFE. The 'America First' president is no fan of multilateral groupings and has repeatedly claimed that the EU does not play fair with the US and that the bloc was created to 'screw' America.
RTHK
6 hours ago
- RTHK
Trump says Mexico, EU to face 30pc tariff from Aug 1
Trump says Mexico, EU to face 30pc tariff from Aug 1 Mexico and the EU will face a 30 percent tariff from the US starting in August. File photo: NurPhoto via AFP US President Donald Trump on Saturday said major US trading partners Mexico and the European Union would face a 30 percent tariff starting next month, ramping up pressure for deals in his trade wars. Both sets of duties would take effect August 1, Trump said in separate letters posted to his Truth Social platform, citing Mexico's role in illicit drugs flowing into the United States and a trade imbalance with the EU. The duties are higher than the 25 percent levy Trump imposed on Mexican goods earlier this year, although products entering the United States under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement are exempted. Canada earlier received a similar letter setting out 35 percent tariffs on its goods. The EU tariff is also markedly steeper than the 20 percent levy Trump unveiled in April, as negotiations with the bloc continue. The EU, alongside dozens of other economies, had been set to see its US tariff level increase from a baseline of 10 percent on Wednesday, but Trump pushed back the deadline to August 1 just days before the elevated rates were due to take effect. Since the start of the week, Trump has sent out letters to more than 20 countries with updated tariffs for each. (AFP)
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
What are China's plans for deep space exploration … and beyond?
The US Senate has approved an extra US$10 billion for Nasa's Artemis moon exploration programme, giving a major boost to contractors such as Boeing. While many see it as a domestic win over newer space players including SpaceX , it also signals the Trump administration's determination to stay ahead of China in an intensifying space race. Here we look at how China is expanding its deep-space ambitions , from putting astronauts on the moon to returning rocks from Mars, and how it is posing the most serious challenge to US space leadership in 60 years. Will the next words spoken on the moon be in Mandarin? Possibly. China aims to land two astronauts on the moon before 2030, with all major hardware now in prototype development and large-scale testing. The Chinese programme's Mengzhou crew capsule passed a critical safety test just last month, and the Long March-10 moon rocket could make its maiden flight as early as next year. China is also developing the Lanyue lunar lander and the Wangyu spacesuit, both undergoing trials. Nasa still leads on paper, with Artemis III targeting a crewed landing no earlier than 2027. But the mission faces big technical hurdles. In particular, its massive lunar lander – a modified SpaceX Starship – requires in-orbit refuelling, something that has not been done before.
