SINGAPORE – The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) urged Washington to steer clear of trade measures that could disrupt deeply intertwined supply chains that benefit the two nations, in a statement shared on April 16.
It warned that unilateral tariffs and other import restrictions could backfire, raising costs and disrupting supply chains for US companies using Singapore as a regional base and logistic node.
The statement was issued in its formal feedback to the US Trade Representative (USTR) regarding two investigations – one on industrial overcapacity and the other on imports made with forced labour.
SBF said Singapore’s acts, policies and practices are neither “unreasonable” nor “discriminatory”, and do not “burden or restrict” US commerce.
Its chief executive officer Kok Ping Soon said Singapore’s investments support over 250,000 American jobs.
“We urge the US administration to recognise our shared commitment to fair, market-oriented trade, and to avoid measures that would disrupt the deeply intertwined supply chains that benefit both our nations,” Mr Kok said.
The federation – which represents over 34,000 companies and advocates for Singapore businesses in areas of trade, investments and industrial relations – stressed that the United States enjoys a trade surplus and extensive investments links with the Republic under the more than two-decade-old US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.
