Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, in her capacity as the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Financial Health (UNSGSA), meets with Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the Istana presidential palace in Singapore on November 7, 2024. - AFP
SINGAPORE (Bloomberg): Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong expressed concern about increased trade friction as the world braces for Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency after threatening massive new tariffs on foreign goods.
Speaking during his first press conference since August, Wong addressed how the policies of President-elect Trump could affect Singapore. While he touted strong bilateral ties with Washington, Wong also said there was a need to reinforce trade links with other countries too.
"Trade is three times our GDP,” Wong said, speaking of Singapore’s import-reliant economy. "We are an open economy. We are a trading economy. We would be concerned in a world where there are more and more frictions to trade overall.”
Trump, who won a resounding mandate in this week’s election, has vowed to impose new tariffs, eyeing a duty of 20% on all foreign goods and 60% or higher on goods coming from China.
If he acts on those promises, he faces relatively few constraints and doesn’t need to consult with Congress.
Any moves that could raise costs or slow growth abroad would be problematic for Singapore, with the government already struggling to contain rising living costs. Wong, who took office in May, wants to convince voters the ruling People’s Action Party has the matter in hand as he heads into a general election due to be held no later than November 2025.
Wong nevertheless touted good ties with Washington that includes an existing free trade agreement he described as a "gold standard” for such pacts.
He also made mention of strong defense ties in a letter to Trump earlier this week. The two sides have for decades had an agreement that supports America’s use of Singapore’s military facilities.
When it comes to global trade issues, though, Wong said that if there are continued disputes, they should be handled through multilateral institutions like the World Trade Organization.
"If there are disputes around trade, we think, from Singapore’s point of view, a better way would be to revamp and strengthen the WTO,” he said. "Even with the current US administration under Mr. Biden, it’s not been easy to put this on the agenda, but we will keep on trying.”
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