In a blog post today (April 6), the Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, mentioned that the United States announced last week that it would impose so-called "reciprocal tariffs" on almost all countries and regions in the world. Such bullying behaviour is a serious violation of the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and has wantonly undermined the multilateral trading system, which is the cornerstone of international trade. The HKSAR government firmly opposes unilateralism, as it will not solve the United States' own problems and will jeopardize the development of the global economy and the stability of the supply chain.
Chan mentioned that after the announcement of the relevant measures by the United States, a number of major economies around the world have proposed countermeasures, and the United States stock market has plummeted for two consecutive days, which is estimated to have evaporated more than US$6,000 billion in market value. Some financial institutions have substantially lowered their forecasts for US and global economic growth, and some have even estimated that the US will fall into recession and the job market and inflation will worsen, with the grassroots in the US bearing the brunt of the impact.
Chan pointed out that the actions of the United States had caused the market to worry that the era of the international rule-based multilateral trading system over the years is over, and the global trade and economy will enter an era of uncertainty and greater volatility. As the risk of escalation of the international trade war is gradually increasing, bringing heavy pressure on the global economy and international trade, the market sentiment has become pessimistic. At this juncture, it is all the more important for the HKSAR government to remain vigilant and be well-prepared with a bottom-line mentality.
Chan said that the HKSAR government will continue to maintain its status as a free port, implement a free trade policy, and safeguard the free and convenient flow of goods, capital and information, etc., which are all protected by the Basic Law.
The global trade outlook has been troubled by geopolitical developments. As an international trade hub, Hong Kong will inevitably be affected to a certain extent in the near future. The HKSAR government has been closely monitoring and assessing the situation and developments, and has been providing support to local enterprises in various aspects, including capital flow, the opening up of new markets, the provision of subsidy schemes and timely provision of information, and so on.
Chan mentioned that the fourth batch of priority enterprise partners will be announced this Tuesday (April 8), and the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) will sign letters of intent with more than a dozen key enterprise partners. Among the new batch of enterprises, there are those specializing in high-precision artificial intelligence, those focusing on commercial service robots, and medical science enterprises focusing on surgical equipment. The 80-odd key enterprises that Hong Kong has successfully attracted in the past two years are expected to bring a total of nearly HK$50 billion of investment and create more than 20,000 jobs in Hong Kong in the next few years, and will also help Hong Kong accelerate the promotion of new forms of industrialization, thus injecting new momentum into Hong Kong's development.
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