Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong expressed disappointment over the U.S. decision to impose a 10% universal tariff rate.
Speaking in parliament on Tuesday (April 8), Wong emphasised that this move contradicts the global trading system the U.S. helped establish, straining the longstanding friendship between the two nations.
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Speaking in parliament on Tuesday (April 8), Wong emphasised that this move contradicts the global trading system the U.S. helped establish, straining the longstanding friendship between the two nations.
Read more at https://tinyurl.com/4b2uccfz
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
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NewsTranscript
00:00What the US is doing now is not reform.
00:08It is rejecting the very system it created.
00:12In Singapore's case, we have an FTA with America.
00:15We impose zero tariffs on US imports and we actually run a trade deficit with the US,
00:22meaning we buy more from them than they do from us.
00:25If the tariffs were truly reciprocal, and if they were meant to target only those with
00:30trade surpluses, then the tariff for Singapore should be zero.
00:36But still we are being subjected to the 10% tariff.
00:41We are very disappointed by the US move, especially considering the deep and long-standing friendship
00:47between our two countries.
00:51These are not actions one does to a friend.
00:54If other countries adopt the same approach as the US, the rules-based trading system
00:59will unravel.
01:01This will spell trouble for all nations, but smaller countries like Singapore will face
01:06greater pressures, because small countries have limited bargaining power in one-on-one
01:12bilateral negotiations.
01:15So the major powers will dictate the terms and we risk being marginalised and sidelined.
01:21The likelihood of a full-blown global trade war is growing.
01:27Singapore has decided not to impose retaliatory tariffs.
01:30Doing so will only lead to increased costs for Singaporeans.
01:35But other countries may not be guided by the same considerations and may have different
01:42perceptions and views.
01:44What's troubling is not just the tariffs themselves, which are already damaging, but the fact that
01:50this new wave of protectionism is unpredictable and unstable.
01:56Protectionism is already bad, unstable, protectionism is even worse.
02:01In this new environment, Singapore must redouble our efforts to remain a key node in global
02:07flows and a trusted business hub.
02:11We will forge closer links with like-minded partners who share our commitment to open
02:16and free trade.
02:18The US may have decided to turn protectionist, but the rest of the world does not have to
02:24follow the same path.
02:26We will identify other partners to join us and work around this to ensure resilience
02:32and maintain critical parts of the multilateral system, while laying the foundations for a
02:38possible new and different global system that can be achievable later.