SINGAPORE, Aug 6 (Reuters) – About one-third of Singapore’s exports to the U.S., worth S$9.5 billion ($7.4 billion), will be affected by a new U.S. tariff of 12.5% imposed on July 24, Trade Minister Gan Kim Yong said.
Here are the details:
• Gan said in parliament on Wednesday that the tariffs imposed under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974 would affect about a third of Singapore’s exports, including optical instruments and chemical products.
• Exempt exports include energy and energy products, certain electronics and aerospace products, as well as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.
• Gan said the U.S. had said it levied the tariff because Singapore does not have a law prohibiting the importation of goods produced with forced labour, nor an Agreement of Reciprocal Trade with the U.S. committing to introduce such a law.
• “Importantly, none of the 60 economies, including those that already have such prohibitions in force, received a full exemption from the tariff,” he said, referring to trading partners that have also had a similar tariff imposed, including the European Union and China.
• Singapore has said that there is no evidence that it is involved in the trade of goods involving forced labour.
• Gan said that the city-state would need to “consider carefully” what would be involved in an agreement with the U.S., noting that they may involve “commitments beyond an import prohibition, including export controls or restrictions relating to third countries”.
• As a major trading hub, he said the nation’s goods and services trade amounts to around S$2.5 trillion each year, of which S$1.4 trillion was in goods so any import prohibition would have “significant implications”.
• According to the USTR’s statistics, the U.S. trade surplus with Singapore was $3.6 billion in 2025.
(Reporting by Jun Yuan Yong; Editing by John Mair)
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