Mouthing Off | Could Trump’s tariffs mean cheaper non-US food in Hong Kong like avocados and olive oil?
Andrew Sun sees a possible silver lining to the new US tariffs that could mean spending less than HK$100 on extra virgin olive oil again
Optimists always say that with every challenge comes new opportunities.
But with the economically illiterate US President Donald Trump single-handedly unleashing a new dawn of American protectionism, sending stock indices falling and world markets into a tailspin, things are looking bleak and may get worse.
Maybe there’s a bright side to focus on, however.
For those of us in Hong Kong, which is still one of the freest ports in the world, the situation hopefully is not so bad. In fact, there might even be a chance to take advantage of the turmoil.
Some of the countries hit hardest by tariffs are Asia’s major factory producers, including Vietnam, Thailand and, of course, China. Assuming these countries’ American sales will now decline, all those surplus goods will have to go somewhere else, right?