Expressing disappointment with the tariffs, Mr Gan said Singapore may have chosen to take measures under a free-trade deal in power since 2004, but will not do so.
” Punitive import duties will simply add value to our goods from the US … and this will affect our users and our companies”, he said.
Mr Gan said Singapore may try to engage the US at several levels to grasp President Donald Trump’s areas of concern and notice if they can be resolved.
” We’ll get engaging at the governmental degree, at the standard level. Ministers in the US will even get engaging them, and our traders will also be engaging their secret business”, said Mr Gan.
” If there are no specific issues, next it’s more difficult to argue or to negotiate”.
The US had a goods trade surplus of US$ 2.8 billion ( S$ 3.74 billion ) with Singapore last year, an 84.8 per cent increase over 2023, according to the United States Trade Representative website.
Mr Gan said Singapore may include to , twice over on its efforts to continue to keep its economy opened and defend available, fair and free deal among like-minded places.
He added the country is working with its partners , to strengthen the World Trade Organization ( WTO ), as it is “very important for us to make sure that we continue to strengthen and preserve the multilateral system to the extent possible, because this will provide the basis for collaboration for international trade under rules-based order”.