Hong Kong jewellers will be forced to reduce their exposure to the US, scale back operations, relocate production or even close down, as American President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on Chinese exports raises levies to as much as 60 per cent, industry leaders have said.

The latest tariffs of 34 per cent on Chinese exports, effective on April 9, would double retail prices, fuel inflation, reduce sales of these goods to the US and potentially force some exporters out of business, industry figures told the Post.

They added that a 10 per cent blanket tariff on virtually all countries meant the jewellers’ workaround option of relocating production to Southeast Asian countries was no longer feasible.

“Many companies will choose to downsize or not to operate in the US market,” Bronia Yip Mei-chu, chairwoman of the Hong Kong Jewelry Manufacturers’ Association, said.

Yip said the tariff situation was particularly dire for small and medium-sized enterprises, which had limited manpower even though they might have an array of products and diverse markets, such as Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

“The only [solution] is to reduce the share of the US [exposure] and possibly increase the share of sales in other markets, Europe, and now more markets in the Belt and Road Initiative and some new Eastern European countries or Africa,” she said.