Singapore manufacturers adjust to higher US tariff, hold off on major production shifts

Companies first have to establish how a product is classified under the international Harmonised System (HS) used by customs authorities.

While the HS is an international standard, countries can have their own more detailed classifications, said Associate Professor Goh Puay Guan from the Department of Analytics and Operations at the National University of Singapore Business School.

This may mean businesses need to provide documentation to support how their products are classified, including how they are used and the industries they are used in, Assoc Prof Goh told CNA’s Singapore Tonight.

“The issue is more of determining where it falls into the buckets, and it’s not always easy because besides the type of products, it could also be that it goes to distributors, for example, and then the end customer or the end use is not always clear,” he said.