Tariffs ceasefire has helped ease uncertainties in Hong Kong’s financial market temporarily, finance chief says
Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Monday the 90-day trade truce agreed between the US and China gave the city’s financial market some breathing space but warned of volatility as the two countries negotiated a settlement.
President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump agreed on Saturday during the G20 summit in Buenos Aires that the two countries would hold back on applying extra tariffs in January to pave the way for a deal. The move had helped ease uncertainties in Hong Kong’s financial market temporarily, Chan said after returning from the summit.
“The truce eases anxiety and stress in the financial market temporarily,” he said. “A more stable financial market will be good for Hong Kong’s economic outlook for next year.”
Following the agreement on Saturday, Trump and Xi moved on to start negotiations immediately on structural changes in such areas as technology transfer, intellectual property protection, non-tariff barriers, cyber intrusions and cyber theft, services and agriculture.
If there is no deal at the end of the 90 days, the US will raise tariffs on US$200 billion of goods from 10 per cent to the 25 per cent previously scheduled to start on January 1.
