Singapore foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan said he made the case during a ‘robust’ discussion with US secretary of state Marco Rubio. (EPA Images pic)
MANILA: Singapore’s top diplomat said there was no economic justification for the US to impose tariffs on the city-state, adding that it seeks to avoid becoming “collateral damage” in Washington’s broader trade policy.
Speaking at the Asean foreign ministers’ meeting in Manila, Vivian Balakrishnan said he made the case during a “robust” discussion with US secretary of state Marco Rubio. He had stressed that the US runs a trade surplus against Singapore, the foreign minister told reporters Thursday, according to a transcript released by the ministry.
His comments came hours before the US imposed levies on most trading partners following an investigation into the alleged failure of around 60 economies to prevent forced labour in their supply chains to the detriment of American workers.
The latest duties stem from a US Trade Representative (USTR) probe under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Most products from Singapore will face a 12.5% levy.
“Singapore is not a target of the US – not at all,” Balakrishnan added. “But we also need to make sure we don’t become collateral damage in the overall scheme in which tariffs are going to be raised by the US with all its trading partners.”
Earlier this month, the ministry of trade and industry told the USTR that there is no evidence of its role in the supply chains of goods associated with forced labour exported to the US. Forced labour is criminalised in Singapore.
The city-state is subject to a separate raft of Section 301 investigations, including a review of US trading partners’ excess manufacturing capacity, the findings of which may also be released soon.
