The United States is not yet ready to reduce its 10 percent tariff on imports from Singapore, but both countries have agreed to look into ways to strengthen their economic ties and continue discussions on the best way forward.
In a LinkedIn post on Saturday, August 26, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong mentioned that he had a “productive” virtual meeting with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to talk about the economic and business relations between the two nations.
ALSO READ: Singapore: PM Wong says world in ‘messy transition’ amid US-China power struggle
“Met virtually with US Secretary of Commerce Howard W. Lutnick yesterday for our introductory call,” part of the Singapore DPM’s post read.
“We had a productive discussion on the strong economic and business ties between Singapore and the US. 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 last year.
“Secretary Lutnick acknowledged the excellent and balanced trading relationship between Singapore and the US. While the US is not prepared to lower its 10% baseline tariff, we agreed to explore how we could deepen our economic links positively and we will continue to discuss the practical way forward.
ALSO READ: Singapore: DPM Gan leads 5-minister task force to tackle US tariffs
“I welcomed Secretary Lutnick to visit Singapore, and look forward to further developing our trade and investment partnership with the US,” he said.
On April 2, President Donald Trump imposed heavy tariffs on many countries, including a 10 percent tax on imports from Singapore.
On April 14, Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry lowered the country’s growth forecast for 2025 to zero percent from 2 percent due to the US-China tariff conflict. Some economists have even warned of a possible technical recession.
Singapore is also an important financial hub and a key trading center for multinational companies operating in Asia. This situation could hurt Singapore due to the US tariffs and the potential disruption in global supply chains caused by the US-China trade war, according to diplomatic observers.
