TRADE RELATIONS

Recent meetings between U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and senior mainland Chinese officials in Beijing indicated that bi-lateral trade tensions remain high ahead of President Trump’s anticipated visit to mainland China later this autumn. More

U.S. President Donald Trump and mainland Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed at their recent high-level meeting in Florida to establish a 100-day plan on trade to, among other things, find ways to increase U.S. exports to mainland China while reducing the current bi-lateral trade deficit. More

On 17 January 2017, the UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, revealed her government’s negotiating objectives for Brexit, setting out her vision of a United Kingdom outside the European Union. During her speech at Lancaster House, May put forth the twelve priorities that will guide her during the Brexit negotiations with the EU. Hong Kong traders should be aware of the key messages that May conveyed, which are reported below. More

Sino-US trade relations could be clearly impacted by the upcoming US presidential election. But even with China-bashing rhetoric in play, such relations are not expected to undergo major new directions in the months ahead. The Obama administration has generally emphasised co-operation over confrontation in its dealings with the mainland, although it remains committed to ensuring vigorous enforcement of US trade laws. More