The United States has confirmed it is not ready to reduce the 10 percent tariff on imports from Singapore, which was implemented on April 5. This decision comes on the heels of the sweeping, Section 232 tariffs that President Donald Trump unilaterally imposed on many of those same countries. These tariffs, including Singapore’s, went into effect on April 2.
During a recent meeting, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong discussed the current trade situation with US officials, emphasizing the importance of the bilateral relationship. As chair of Singapore’s Economic Resilience Taskforce, Gan couldn’t have been happier for the opportunity to engage with US counterparts. He intended to discuss potential opportunities to bolster economic relationships between the two countries.
“I noted that our bilateral trade and Singapore investments support around 350,000 American jobs, and that the US has enjoyed a consistent trade surplus with Singapore which amounted to US$30 billion (S$39.4 billion) last year,” Gan stated. This reflects the deep economic integration of the two countries.
Even in the shadow of the still-present tariffs, both parties were quick to recognize their desire to further strengthen economic ties. What I appreciated most about the discussions was that they focused on identifying real-world solutions for how to proceed even with the new trade barriers in place.
“While the US is not prepared to lower its 10 percent baseline tariff, we agreed to explore how we could deepen our economic links positively and we will continue to discuss the practical way forward,” – Gan Kim Yong
US officials, such as our own trade department’s representatives, have lauded the strong trading relationship with Singapore. They’re calling it fair, balanced, and outstanding. This relationship has long been marked by reciprocal advantages and a mutual basis to want to keep healthy commerce channels open.
As both Singapore and the United States continue to negotiate on a daily basis. They are determined to continue finding innovative ways to ramp up their economic partnership. To this end, we will focus on promoting a China-U.S. dialogue that serves the interests of both countries. All the while, we’ll deal with the issues created by current tariffs.
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