Hong Kong businesses take Trump’s latest tariff surprise in stride

Businesses in Hong Kong remain confident of weathering uncertainties after US President Donald Trump raised global tariffs in response to a Supreme Court ruling that struck down his sweeping levies on imports.The local business sector was convinced that the impact of the new 15 per cent global tariff would be “limited”, echoing the opinion of financial officials.“President Trump’s actions only undermine confidence in American investment and trade, doing nothing but harm,” Jimmy Ng Wing-ka, who represents the Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong in the legislature, said.“The Hong Kong business sector has become more conservative about doing business with the US in recent years and is also working hard to diversify its markets and supply chains. This should be accelerated.”While Ng said the worst case scenario could be an escalation of the Trade War, he added: “We need not be overly pessimistic. Trump is too unpredictable. We should stay calm and get prepared to adapt to changes.”Last week, the US Supreme Court struck down tariffs imposed by Trump under an emergency powers law. But within hours of the court’s decision, Trump signed a new executive order imposing a uniform 10 per cent global tariff on all countries that would last 150 days.