Transcription
Rising U.S. tariffs and growing nationalism threaten Singapore's economy. But Prime Minister Lawrence Wong says there are still opportunities in clean energy and advanced technology. He says the government will keep making bold moves to embrace artificial intelligence, support businesses, and stay a key help for global investment. There has it reports.
At a conference by Institute of Policy Studies, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong says the U.S. base like Tariff of 10%. It's not ideal, but Singapore can live with it because of America's resilient economy and tremendous innovation among its companies. But at the same time, if the U.S. continues pulling back from the international order, it might pose further challenges. It's not just America alone, it's America's network of allies and partners. There's no one that can replace that. No one that is able to, no one that is willing to. And so if this trend continues, we will end up with more chaos in the world. It will be a world that is more conflict-prone, difficult to navigate, more fragmented, and less able to come together to deal with global challenges, like environment.
To cope with these challenges, Singapore's economic resilience, bolstered by Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong, will continue to negotiate in strengthening foreign ties. This is beyond dealing with the immediate. There is also a need for the task force and for us as a government and as a society to think about how we better prepare Singapore for a very different environment. And so we will need to update and refresh our economic strategies for change. While the task force is thinking about how best to do this, they will be making some announcements in due course.
To be a global city, Mr. Wong says Singapore has no other choice but to remain open. But at the same time, it must remain consistent with its initial values and be a shining beacon for investors and businesses. This means staying stable, predictable, and reliable while taking care of its citizens' needs. There will be house rules that apply. For example, controls on housing. Foreigners want to buy a home property, the ABSD will be increased. Controls on foreign manpower. It's not just a free fall. We manage the flows. So that Singaporeans, all Singaporeans, remain at the center of everything we do.
Mr. Wong says clean energy will be critical to Singapore's next phase of growth, and the country is seriously studying the use of nuclear power technology. He says it's not just about being pioneers; the real gains come when adoption is broad and widespread. There's still so much potential to be unlocked and unleashed. And so we will have to think harder about how we can help every company, big and small, especially our small enterprises, make full use of AI, integrate AI into your processes, transform your industry trends, streamline business, and lift productivity in a more significant way.
Moving forward, Mr. Wong has pledged that the government will continue making bold moves to keep Singapore exceptional. Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong says the United States is in no mood to discuss any cuts to the 10% baseline tariffs on Singapore. But he adds that Singapore is still open to negotiations. His comments come after a week-long trip to the U.S. for trade talks. Tariff discussions were a key focus, Caitlin, with more.
Singapore's pitch for tariff relief landed in Washington last week, but Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong says the U.S. was not keen to discuss reducing Singapore's tariffs. He revealed this during a conference organized by the Institute of Policy Studies. "We also wanted to know whether the baseline tariff of 10% will be higher or lower. And so, it was non-committal, and the U.S. is reviewing that. Have a friend in time to come, but they will make the appropriate announcements. So, we have just have to wait and see."
I think that's significant. Certainties Singapore is facing a 10% baseline tariff when exporting goods to the U.S. DPM Gan says changes to that will remain unclear. He added that during the U.S. visit, he did not meet with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. This meant that talks on pharmaceutical tariffs did not take place. "I think the administration is focusing on ways to finish the negotiation of the Super Bowl. So after that, then they will start to engage countries on the specific sectoral percent, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors."
Beyond tariffs, DPM Gan met with U.S. congressmen and administration officials to highlight Singapore's economic role and ASEAN as a fast-growing region. "We also discussed cooperation in digital economy, in climate change sustainability, in the green economy, and how we can continue to work together. Many of these areas that have potential for growth, and also encouraged him to continue to engage with ASEAN, not just Singapore, but the larger Asia because ASEAN, for example, is a fostering region and a very important economic region for the U.S."
But even after tariff discussions, Mr. Gan says significant uncertainties remain. These include how tariffs will apply when goods are shipped between countries. There's also the issue of determining where a product originates from and how these products are classified when they're built with parts from many different countries. How other nations may respond to U.S. trade policies is also unclear. There's also the issue of how the supply chain will be restructured. Countries who have investments in high-tech hubs may decide to move their investments to relocate their manufacturing plants to low-tariff countries so as to benefit from the lower tariffs imposed by the U.S. The concern and uncertainty that we are facing is how would this impact the overall global trading system, what we call the rules-based multilateral trading system that we depend on. The rules are expecting trade agreements with one another and not to change freely. It's something that has been challenged.
Despite these hurdles, DPM Gan says the U.S. economy remains resilient, with its inflation moderating and steady employment. He has said the U.S. business sentiment is also cautiously optimistic.