Hong Kong’s exports rose by 14.5 per cent in August year on year amid a Sino-US trade truce and a surprise rebound in shipments to America and Europe, alongside continued solid demand in Asia, which helped offset wider economic uncertainties.

But industry leaders and economists warned on Thursday the strong performance was heavily inflated by businesses front-loading shipments to evade tariff costs and masked a grim long-term outlook of Sino-US economic decoupling.

According to the Census and Statistics Department, the value of the city’s total exports for August reached HK$436.6 billion (US$56.14 billion). The year-on-year increase marked an uptick from the 14.3 per cent recorded in July and the 11.9 per cent logged in June.

For the first eight months of 2025, the value of exports and imports of goods jumped by 13 per cent over the same period last year. In August, imports grew by 11.5 per cent to HK$462 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of HK$25.4 billion.

A government spokesman said exports to mainland China and most other Asian markets continued to post solid growth, and exports to the United States and the European Union turned to increases.