In an exclusive interview with New Europe, Dr. Tan See Leng, Singapore’s Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry, discussed several current key global trade issues shortly after a recent Belt and Road Summit that organized by the regional administration in Hong Kong.

New Europe (NE): How would you evaluate the current trade relations between Singapore/ASEAN and the EU? 

Tan See Leng (TSL): Singapore and the EU are important trade and investment partners. Our economies are deeply intertwined, anchored by substantive trade, investment and people-to-people ties. The EU is Singapore’s 4th largest trading partner for goods and 2nd largest trading partner for services. The EU is also Singapore’s 2nd largest foreign investor. Singapore, in turn, is the EU’s 2nd largest ASEAN trading partner for goods and third-largest Asian investor. We host over 11,000 EU companies, and many Europeans call Singapore their home, which adds to the vibrancy of our cosmopolitan society. We enjoy strong bilateral economic relations, underpinned by a shared interest in upholding the open and rules-based trading system, as well as the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) which entered into force on November 21, 2019. The EUSFTA is the first FTA between the EU and an ASEAN member state. In addition to providing increased market access and addressing non-tariff barriers, the EUSFTA has provisions to address 21st-century trade challenges and contains strong rules on trade and sustainable development, including the protection of labour rights and the environment. The EUSFTA signals the EU’s commitment to step up its engagement with Southeast Asia. The agreement serves as a strategic pathfinder for an eventual ASEAN-EU FTA, which will enhance region-to-region connectivity and present both sides with the opportunity to explore cooperation on issues beyond COVID-19, such as ensuring supply chain continuity and promoting digital connectivity to complement ASEAN and the EU’s respective recovery efforts. 

NE: Which elements would be important for WTO reforms? 

TSL: As a small and open economy, Singapore strongly supports an open, rules-based multilateral trading system. The WTO has underpinned decades of prosperity in the world since it was established in January 1995. Its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, had done the same in the post-war period between 1947 and 1995. The WTO remains the cornerstone of Singapore’s trade policy and is the primary forum for Singapore to advance and defend our trade interests. Singapore will continue to work with other WTO members to revitalize its negotiating function and update WTO rules so that they are relevant for the modern economy. For example, Singapore, together with co-conveners Australia and Japan, launched the Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic Commerce in December 2017. The JSI outlines the intention to develop multilateral rules on the trade-related aspects of electronic commerce. The WTO also needs to strengthen its dispute settlement mechanism. A two-tiered dispute settlement mechanism, including a well-functioning Appellate Body, is crucial to ensure multilateral trade rules are enforceable for all WTO Members, big or small, for a predictable global trade environment. Singapore is committed to working with other WTO members to find a permanent solution to the impasse on appointments to the Appellate Body. In addition, we will work to strengthen the monitoring function of the WTO to ensure trade policies and measures of WTO members are transparent, especially amidst crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This will contribute to a stable global trading environment for businesses. 

NE: How does Singapore go about balancing its trade relations with the US and China? 

TSL: The US and China are important economic partners to all countries around the world and their trade actions have far-reaching implications. It is therefore important that the US and China develop a framework for a constructive and stable bilateral relationship. Once again, as both a small and open economy, Singapore is highly dependent on trade with the rest of the world, including with the US and China, which are the world’s two largest economies. The US is our largest foreign investor, while China is Singapore’s largest export market and top investment destination. Singapore maintains good trading relations with both the US and China with extensive economic and people-to-people ties in both countries. We will continue to work to mitigate the impact of the ongoing trade tensions by building on our sound economic fundamentals: 

1. We will continue to expand our trade networks and seek out new opportunities and markets. Today, we have 26 FTAs with our major partners which represent over 85% of global GDP. As important trade partners for Singapore, we have a bilateral FTA with the US, the US-Singapore FTA (USSFTA), while China and Singapore are signatories to the China-Singapore FTA (CSFTA), ASEAN-China FTA (ACFTA), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). 
2. We are making good progress in investing in new areas of growth, such as the digital and green economy. Singapore is investing in digital infrastructure, establishing governance frameworks that support cross border data flows, and strengthening the digital capabilities of our businesses and people. To work towards net zero emissions, Singapore launched the Singapore Green Plan 2030 in February 2021, a whole-of-nation movement that charts ambitious and concrete sustainability targets over the next 10 years. 
3. We will remain committed to research and development, to propel our economy towards a knowledge- and innovation-driven one. 
4. We will continue to welcome global talent continue to welcome foreign companies, including those from China and the US, to operate here as long as they abide by Singapore’s rule of law. 

NE: How can we tackle the challenges of global trade, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic? 

TSL: Trade was badly impacted by COVID-19, but the global recovery has been faster than most expected. The WTO estimates that world merchandise trade would increase by 8.0% in 2021, after falling by 5.3% in 2020. Part of this would be driven by rising consumer demand in Europe and North America, stimulated by their governments’ fiscal support for COVID-19. Services trade, especially tourism, remain badly hit. However, we are likely to see sustained growth in services trade in the longer term, as the pandemic has accelerated automation and digitization in services industries that were previously lagging. The first step to restoring global trade should be to help all countries emerge from this healthcare crisis, as this is a prerequisite to economic recovery. As such, Singapore has been actively contributing to global efforts to recover from the pandemic, such as donating supplies and vaccines through the COVAX program. We must also continue to commit to keeping global trade and supply chains open. We witnessed how export restrictions imposed during the pandemic disrupted supply chains and harmed both the international economy and the global fight against COVID-19. Even at the worst periods of the pandemic, Singapore remained committed to upholding an inclusive and stable trading environment and has continued pursuing trade agreements with like-minded partners and kept our trading lines open throughout the pandemic. Despite growing calls for protectionism and populism in the developed world, there is still strong international support for free trade and globalization among many countries, as seen by regional FTAs such as RCEP and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Through regular dialogues, Governments and businesses can also work together to strengthen supply chain resilience. We should also renew our commitment towards multilateralism and strengthen institutions such as the WTO. Singapore urges all WTO members to demonstrate their commitments to the Agreement on Trade Facilitation as quickly as possible so that businesses and economies can benefit, and is committed to progressing negotiations at the WTO on a range of important issues such as the Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic Commerce, of which Singapore is a co-convenor along with Australia and Japan.                                              

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By: Nicholas Waller
Title: Singapore remains SE Asia’s bellwether nation
Sourced From: www.neweurope.eu/article/singapore-remains-se-asias-bellwether-nation/
Published Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2021 13:36:22 +0000

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