Hong Kong SAR

The EU and Hong Kong enjoy a stable trade relationship. Bilateral trade and economic relations are mature and characterised by a very limited incidence of trade irritants.

Bilateral trade relations between the EU and Hong Kong have been discussed since 2007, in Structured Dialogue meetings involving the European Commission and Hong Kong’s government authorities. For political and practical reasons, no such dialogue has taken place since December 2019. 

Trade picture

• Hong Kong was the EU's 31^st largest trading partner in goods in 2023. The EU is Hong Kong's third-largest trade partner after China and Taiwan.
• EU imports from Hong Kong are dominated by machinery and transport equipment. EU exports to Hong Kong are dominated by machinery and appliances, transport equipment, and chemical products. 
• In commercial services, Hong Kong ranks as the EU’s tenth-biggest trading partner (2022), revealing dynamic development in recent years (doubling since 2017). The main areas of EU-Hong Kong trade in services are transportation, and business and financial services.
• In terms of foreign direct investment, the EU's outward stock of investment in Hong Kong was €96 billion, while inward stocks from Hong Kong into the EU were €194 billion (2022). According to statistics from Hong Kong, the EU was the 5^th largest investor in Hong Kong and the 2^nd destination for Hong Kong’s FDI globally (2022). 
• The EU is the largest foreign business community in Hong Kong, according to the latest survey carried out by the Hong Kong SAR government (2023). 1,548 EU companies have set up their businesses in Hong Kong and about half of them are using Hong Kong as their regional headquarters or regional offices. The EU’s business presence covers a large variety of sectors, including financial and business services, trading, logistics, construction, and retailing. EU companies are key players in a range of sectors of the Hong Kong economy, including finance (banking, insurance and securities), logistics and infrastructure.

The EU and Hong Kong

Bilateral trade relations between the EU and Hong Kong are regularly discussed in annual Structured Dialogue meetings that have been held every year since 2007 involving the European Commission and Hong Kong’s government authorities.

The yearly Structured Dialogue meetings between the European Commission and Hong Kong's government authorities allow the EU to exchange information with the Hong Kong authorities on a variety of key issues affecting bilateral trade.

Trading with Hong Kong

• Importing into the EU from Hong Kong
  • EU trade defence measures on imports from Hong Kong
• Exporting from the EU to Hong Kong
  • Trade defence measures in force in Hong Kong
• Trade relations are part of the EU's overall political and economic relations with Hong Kong
• Hong Kong is a member of the World Trade Organization