US-China trade war will benefit Southeast Asia, Hong Kong shoppers as exporters seek new markets, California official says
Jeffrey Williamson, director of the California State Trade Expansion Program, says US exporters will explore markets they did not pay much attention to previously
Still, many American exporters, which count mainland China as their biggest market, did not want to give up the trade and were seeking to get around the hefty tariffs through e-retailing, he said.
“China is still the biggest market for many California exporters, how can you ignore it?” Williamson said on the sidelines of the Food Expo, a five-day trade show in Wan Chai.
“Nobody wants to pay more for the same thing they paid for six months ago. Innovation is key for the future, it is a lesson for everyone.”
The United States fired the first shot of the trade war in June when its decision to levy a 25 per cent tariff on US$34 billion (HK$265.2 billion) worth of Chinese goods took effect. In a tit-for-tat move, China imposed the same extent of tariffs on an equivalent mount of American goods.
The US then proposed to impose a 10 per cent tariff on US$200 billion worth of Chinese products, pending a congressional hearing on August 20. On August 23, a 25 per cent tariff on another US$16 billion worth of Chinese goods would come into effect.