SINGAPORE: Two Cabinet ministers sounded the alarm over United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Saturday ( Apr 5 ), calling it” a profound setback” to the global system and” a shadow ( that ) is forming across the world”.  ,
Echoing Friday’s speech by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on the broad tariffs, Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan cautioned that the degradation of interdependence and joint agreements may provide higher inflation and slower growth.  ,
He said that in the past 80 decades, there has usually been liberal economic integration, progress of global supply chains, and foreign firms expanding and investing around the world.  ,
The “organising process” was about economic productivity and competitive benefits, he added.  ,
” And if you think about Singapore for the last 60 years, we realise our policies – economic, social, education – have actually been finely tuned to take maximum advantage of a world that operates on this basis” . ,
In a YouTube video posted on Friday, Mr Wong said the taxes marked a” geological shift” in the international order, one where rules-based globalisation and free trade are around, to move into one that is “more random, protectionist, and dangerous”.
Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who is also the trade and industry minister, even warned of the significant effect of the taxes, prompting Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh to rear Mr Wong’s call for unification on Saturday night.  ,
At his district event in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, Dr Balakrishnan said:” This is a big time. This is a turning point, a serious setback to the way the universe has operated for the last 80 times”, said Dr Balakrishnan, who is also Member of Parliament for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC.  ,
He was present at the Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council’s five-year expert program function with fellow MPs Christopher de Souza, Sim Ann, Edward Chia from Holland-Bukit Timah GRC and Liang Eng Hwa from Bukit Panjang SMC.  ,
In a separate occasion at Nee Quickly GRC, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam called the previously imposed taxes” a very serious condition” and described it as akin to” a darkness that is forming across the world”.  ,
” With the tariffs that are being imposed across almost every country in the world, it’s going to have a serious impact on economies around the world” . ,
Dr Balakrishnan and Mr Shanmugam were asked to weigh in on the tariffs, which have triggered a wave of retaliatory measures from affected nations like China, following Trump’s announcement on Wednesday.  ,
Singapore, the only Southeast Asian country  , with a trade surplus with the US, will face a baseline 10 per cent tariff.  ,
In contrast, other Southeast Asian nations such as Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Myanmar will see tariffs ranging from 18 to 49 per cent.
While Mr Gan expressed disappointment with the tariffs,  , he said on Thursday Singapore would not be taking retaliatory measures against them even though it could have chosen to do so.  ,