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(Bloomberg) — 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.
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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.
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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 labor in their supply chains to the detriment of American workers.
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The latest duties stem from a US Trade Representative probe under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. About one-third of Singapore’s exports to the US will be subject to the 12.5% tariff, according to a statement from the Ministry of Trade and Industry on Friday. Energy, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors are among the products granted exemptions.
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“Singapore is not a target of the US — not at all,” Balakrishnan said. “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.”
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The MTI said it would keep engaging with Washington to explore options on the matter. Earlier this month, it told the USTR that there is no evidence of its role in the supply chains of goods associated with forced labor exported to the US. Forced labor is criminalized in Singapore.
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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.
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DBS Bank Ltd. senior economist Chua Han Teng said the tariff exemption for certain electronics and chips should allow Singapore to keep riding the artificial-intelligence wave that’s driven its exports and overall economic growth.
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However, the 12.5% levy would weigh on non-electronics, non-oil domestic exports to the US, which have already been underperforming, he noted.
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“Singapore’s exporters and the economy will need to continue navigating an increasingly protectionist global landscape, even though they have demonstrated resilience over the past year,” Chua said.
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(Updates with statement from trade ministry, comment from analyst)
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