Singapore signs Free Trade Agreement with the United States

The historic US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (USSFTA) was signed by then Prime Minister of Singapore Goh Chok Tong and then President of the United States George W. Bush at the White House on 6 May 2003.^[1] The USSFTA was a landmark deal as it was the first FTA that the United States (US) had signed with an Asian country.^[2] For Singapore, the USSFTA would help to boost its bilateral trade with the US, which was on the decline at the time. In 2001, the US was Singapore’s second largest trading partner behind Malaysia. Total trade between Singapore and the US decreased from S$67.7 billion in 2001 to S$62.5 billion in 2002.^[3]

The USSFTA laid out the duties and obligations of Singapore and the US in areas such as trade in goods and services, customs procedures, movement of business persons, intellectual property protection and the environment. For instance, the USSFTA removed the tariffs or import taxes that the US had imposed on Singapore goods, thereby enabling Singapore firms to save between US$200 and US$300 million annually. The USSFTA also enabled US banks such as Citibank to open more branches in Singapore, and facilitated enforcement of intellectual property protection.^[4]

The USSFTA was concluded more than two years after negotiations began in November 2000.^[5] It was held up by a number of issues, including whether Singapore could retain the right to impose controls on the flow of capital across its borders in the event of a financial emergency. The Singapore and US governments finally arrived at a compromise over this issue, resulting in the successful conclusion of the USSFTA in May 2003.^[6] The USSFTA came into force on 1 January 2004^[7] after it was approved by the US House of Representatives and the US Senate on 25 July and 1 August 2003 respectively.^[8]

References
1. Zuraidah Ibrahim. (2003, May 8). Landmark pact inked. The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
2. Yeo, E. (2003, May 5). A US-S’pore first. Today, p. 17. Retrieved from NewspaperSG..
3. Aggarwal, N. (2003, January 18). FTA pact expected to reverse trade slide.  The Straits Times, p. A28. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
4. Five things you should know about the US-Spore FTA. (2003, May 8). The Straits Times, p. 12. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
5. Wong, D. (2000, November 17). US, S'pore eye free trade pact. The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
6. Aggarwal, N., & Leong, C. T. (2003, January 17). Singapore closes free-trade deal with US.  The Straits Times, p. 3. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
7. Yeo, E. (2004, January 1). FTAs: New challenges and opportunities. Today, p. 12. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
8. USSFTA gets Congressional nod. (2003, July 12). The Straits Times, p. 12; House passes US-S’pore FTA. (2003, July 26). Today, p. 4; Yeo, E. (2003, August 2). Cheers! We have a deal. Today, p. 3. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.