HONGKONG'S toy and footwear industries could be cut by as much as 11 per cent if harsh new import quotas proposed by the European Community (EC) are enforced.
A new bill, being debated by the EC's Council of Ministers, will dramatically cut quotas on a wide variety of imported goods in eight categories: chemicals, footwear, toys, tableware, glassware, radios, leather gloves and bicycles.
The bill targets countries whose economies are planned, such as China, one of the world's leading toy and footwear makers.
For some Hongkong manufacturers it could mean ruin as more than 90 per cent of the territory's footwear and toys are made in China.
The bill proposes cutting 73 per cent of last year's quotas on three categories of toys: stuffed toys, parts and accessories; other toys representing animals and non-human creatures; and kites, inflatable balls, balloons and other toys not having a spring mechanism.
Last year, China's exports to the EC in these categories amounted to $8.18 billion.