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Straits Times
10 hours ago
- Straits Times
No clarity yet on baseline or pharmaceutical tariffs with US: DPM Gan
Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said he has told US officials that Singapore would be keen to negotiate its baseline tariff rate if the opportunity arises. SINGAPORE – The US government did not negotiate its tariffs on Singapore and did not want to commit on whether the 10 per cent baseline tax could rise or fall in the future, said Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong. DPM Gan, who visited the US from July 20 to 26 , added that he did not get to further discussions on pharmaceutical tariffs being contemplated by the Trump administration. He told the SG60 IPS-SBF Conference on July 29 that these talks did not take place as he did not get the chance to meet Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. He did, however, meet other officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. They discussed ways to keep up the long and mutually beneficial bilateral economic relationship, as well as potential collaboration in areas like the digital economy. DPM Gan also met business leaders in New York, and congressional leaders handling trade issues in Washington. He also visited an ST Engineering aerostructures factory in Maryland. The US administration was 'not in the mood to discuss any discount to the baseline tariff', DPM Gan said at a dialogue moderated by Mr David Rennie, The Economist's geopolitics editor. 'We also wanted to know whether the baseline tariff will stay at 10 per cent or will it be higher or lower? The answer was non-committal. They are still reviewing the tariff and, in time to come, they will make the appropriate announcement. So we just have to wait and see.' Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Grace Fu apologises for Tanjong Katong sinkhole, says road may stay closed for a few more days Singapore Terrorism threat in Singapore remains high, driven by events like Israeli-Palestinian conflict: ISD Singapore Liquidators score victory to recoup over $900 million from alleged scammer Ng Yu Zhi's associates Singapore Man on trial for raping woman who hired him to repair lights in her flat Sport IOC president Kirsty Coventry a 'huge supporter' of Singapore Singapore 7, including child and firefighter, taken to hospital after fire breaks out in Toa Payoh flat Singapore S'pore can and must meaningfully apply tech like AI in a way that creates jobs for locals: PM Wong Singapore Doctor who forged certificates for aesthetic procedures gets 4 months' jail DPM Gan, who is also Minister for Trade and Industry, said he has told US officials that Singapore would be keen to negotiate its baseline tariff rate if the opportunity arises. Pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, which are key exports from Singapore to the US, are currently exempt from baseline tariffs. But US President Donald Trump had earlier in 2025 threatened to end an exemption for pharmaceutical imports, saying tariffs would be imposed 'at a level that you haven't really seen before'. The US is a major market for Singapore-based drugmakers including American multinationals like Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. DPM Gan said official-level discussions between Singapore and the US Department of Commerce, which commenced before his trip, are still ongoing. 'I can't go into detail because negotiation is ongoing and there's a bit of a confidentiality we need to maintain on both sides,' he said when asked what the US was looking to secure through these talks. He added that the US generally had concerns about what the country experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic, when supplies of critical pharmaceuticals were disrupted. 'They want to make sure that they have a secure supply line of pharmaceuticals. They do want to see whether they can onshore this production, so that they can produce (it) themselves. But they also know that it's not possible to onshore everything, because some of the raw materials are actually (from) outside of America,' he said. 'They do need to think about how they can work with partners, trusted partners, to make sure that their supply chain is secure and reliable. So that is what they are looking for in their partners, including Singapore,' he added. 'I think the administration's focus now is to finish the negotiation of reciprocal tariffs. Then it will start to engage countries on specific sectoral tariffs in pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.' DPM Gan said Singapore has yet to engage the US on the prospect of semiconductor tariffs . However, he added that discussions to preserve the country's access to artificial intelligence equipment and semiconductors are under way. Speaking at the same conference earlier in the day, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said Singapore's trade and investment relationship with America, even with the tariffs, remains important. 'We would prefer to have zero tariffs of course, but if it is the baseline rate, then we are at the lowest category. We can live with it, and we can still do business and there will still be many opportunities for trade with the US, because whatever is happening in America now, the economy is still resilient, and there is still tremendous innovation happening in American companies, and so there will still be opportunities there,' he said. DPM Gan in his dialogue said the US economy continues to be relatively resilient. He said that based on the feedback from US businessmen he met on his trip, the outlook for the US economy seems cautiously optimistic, adding that Mr Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill , which includes tax cuts and business support measures, may have contributed to this. He said Singapore continues to have a good working relationship with the US. The US was Singapore's second-largest trading partner in 2024, while Singapore was its 16th-largest trading partner. Singapore was also the third-largest Asian investor in the US. More than 250 Singapore companies operate across 45 states, supporting around 350,000 jobs in the US, according to the Republic's Ministry of Trade and Industry. The US also has a longstanding trade surplus and free trade agreement with Singapore. The recent deals between the US and several countries, as well as the European Union economic bloc, are good news, DPM Gan said. 'This gives us a sense that there's good progress in the tariff negotiation. But I also come back with the sense that there remains significant uncertainty. I'm not sure whether the uncertainty has really been eliminated or even reduced,' he added. He cited the lack of clarity on the rules of origin that will be used to determine where products originate from. He also said it is unclear how reciprocal tariffs will be implemented, and how components from different countries and transshipped goods will be assessed. This comes on top of the uncertainty around sectoral tariffs, which are yet to be determined. There is also uncertainty about whether the investments that countries have pledged to the US under tariff deals are new contributions, or money that is currently invested in another country, DPM Gan said. 'For example, the EU has committed to make an investment... over a period of time. Japan has also committed investments into the US. Japan has been a major investor in Singapore. Whether the Japanese investment in Singapore will be diverted to the US is a question that is yet to be seen,' he said. 'There are (also) uncertainties as to how countries will respond to the outcome of the tariff negotiation. Some countries have also committed to purchase more from the US, and they would have been purchasing these products from other countries. Whether now, instead of purchasing from country A, country B, they will now purchase from the US, and therefore exports from these countries to affected countries will be changed,' he added. 'I think these uncertainties (are) second derivative uncertainties. No one is paying much attention yet, because we need to have a tariff settled, then we work out how the secondary impact would be.' Global supply chains will also be restructured if countries move their investments from destinations facing higher US tariffs to those facing lower tariffs, he added. 'The overall global trading system, what we call the rules-based multilateral trading system, that we depend on rules, respecting trade agreements with one another, and not change at will, is something that has been challenged,' DPM Gan said. 'Today, we can agree with one another on a certain tariff, but tomorrow, something happens. We start to change our tariff rate, and that is something that is very uncertain, and that has been seen over the last few months.'
CNA
18 hours ago
- CNA
Singapore needs to 'think harder' on ways to integrate AI into work: PM Wong
SINGAPORE: Singapore will have to put more thought into helping businesses, especially smaller ones, harness the use of artificial intelligence in their work processes, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Tuesday (Jul 29). To this, Mr Wong said Singapore is well positioned to do so "company-by-company" given its compact size, adding that the country should also "not just rush headlong" into AI and think hard on how to redesign jobs and retrain workers at the same time. He was speaking during a dialogue at an Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) and Singapore Business Federation (SBF) conference titled "Global-City Singapore: SG60 and Beyond". The dialogue was moderated by IPS director Janadas Devan and covered a wide range of topics including US trade tariffs, Singapore's social compact and inequality in Southeast Asia. In response to a question from Ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh about how prepared Singapore is to harness the benefits of the technology, Mr Wong said there is a lot of potential to be unlocked when it comes to AI. "We will have to think harder about how we can help every company, big and small, especially our smaller enterprises, make full use of AI." That will involve integrating it into processes, transforming businesses and industries, and elevating productivity in a more significant way. While AI is relatively accessible, most people still do not make use of its full potential, Mr Wong said. 'Most of us use AI the way we use Google. That's not exactly the best way to use AI.' Mr Wong said he recently spoke with a chief executive officer who set aside some time with his management team to think about how AI can transform their company. The team realised there were 'tremendous advantages' that they had not thought about before. 'That kind of a transformation – if we can make it happen, company by company – can yield significant advantages for us. 'If there is any country that can do that, it is us, because we are small, we are compact, and we can do this, company by company.' A pre-conference survey by IPS found that c ompanies in Singapore are less ambitious than firms in other Southeast Asian countries when it comes to future automation plans. Most of the Singapore companies polled in the survey also expect automation to have a limited impact on employment compared with firms in some Southeast Asian countries. Mr Wong said that there are rewards for countries that are technology pioneers and are on the cutting edge. 'But in fact, the big advantage of technology is when there is broad-based adoption, when countries really, truly harness technology across the entire economy,' he said. 'That's when you reap the real benefits.' AI'S IMPACT ON JOBS While adopting AI, however, Singapore will also need to think 'equally hard' about doing so in a way that creates jobs for locals. History suggests that jobs will disappear and evolve because of technology, but the newly created jobs are usually better and higher paying. But there are concerns that AI will be different because it can do so many things that humans can. 'People are worried, people are wondering, and there are good reasons to be concerned,' said Mr Wong. Singapore has no choice when it comes to adopting technology, but should try to do so in a 'meaningful and deliberate manner' that creates jobs. 'It's up to us,' he said. 'And again, we can do it in Singapore because we have the ability as a compact system.' The government has a good relationship with employers and unions, and can discuss how to redesign jobs and retrain workers. 'That's what we must do in Singapore, not just rush headlong into AI,' he said. 'Embrace it, adopt it, but always make sure that the technological changes that we harness, the power of technology, benefits workers not replaces them, and always ensures that workers will thrive in this new environment.' GLOBAL CITY AMID GEOPOLITICAL TENSIONS Mr Wong also responded to a question from Mr Janadas about how Singapore is preparing to face global challenges such as trade tariffs and an uncertain economic outlook. Beyond the immediate issues, however, Singapore's government and society need to think about how to prepare for a very different environment. 'We will need to update and refresh our economic strategies for a changed world,' he said. The Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce is thinking about how best to do this, and will be making some announcements in due course,' Mr Wong said. The taskforce was formed in April to help businesses and workers deal with the effects of the US tariffs. Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who heads the task force, will be speaking at the same conference later on Tuesday. Even in a fragmented world, there will be a 'global network of cosmopolitan cities' that stand out. 'We want to be one of them – a shining node where the human spirit thrives, where people want to be here to do business and to make things happen,' he said, when asked what Singapore's place is in a changing world. Singapore does not have to copy others, but should have confidence to chart a path. 'We will never be like New York or Paris, and we don't have to be. Here, we are cosmopolitan, but we are Asian, we are multicultural,' he said. He acknowledged that some will say Singapore is boring, and there is some truth to that even as the country tries to be more exciting and have more lifestyle offerings. 'But at the same time, we are stable, we are predictable, we are reliable, and we are trusted,' he said. 'And these are intangible assets that others would die to have.' Singapore should embrace its strengths and competitive advantage, build on them and add value to the world. 'We can make it happen. We already are, in many ways, successful, because of our track record, because of our reputation, and we can build on these strong foundations to do even better.'
Independent Singapore
2 days ago
- Independent Singapore
Rising trade tensions spark concern over Singapore's pharmaceutical and semiconductor exports: RHB
Photo: Freepik/tawatchai07(for illustration purposes only) SINGAPORE: Rising trade tensions have sparked growing concerns over Singapore's export-oriented industries, especially in pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, said RHB Group chief economist and head of market research Barnabas Gan, following discussions with policymakers in the city-state on sectoral tariffs. Last year, these two sectors, along with consumer electronics, accounted for around 40% of Singapore's domestic exports to the US. Pharmaceuticals alone made up 12.3%. According to Singapore Business Review , which cited the bank's report, the outlook for Singapore's export-oriented sectors like chemicals, machinery and transport, and manufacturing is bearish. Policymakers highlighted that a 25% tariff could be introduced on both pharmaceutical and semiconductor exports, which would weigh further on Singapore's exports, said Mr Gan. However, they're expecting positive outcomes from ongoing discussions with the US on pharmaceutical tariffs, as they aim to shield one of Singapore's most vital industries from the impact of rising trade tensions. In April, Trade and Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong discussed pharmaceutical exports and access to advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, according to a trade ministry transcript. See also Instagram reels scandal rocks social media giant Meta The comment followed a 13% year-on-year jump in Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) in June, after a 3.9% drop in May, with gains seen in both electronic and non-electronic shipments. However, the trade minister warned that new US tariffs and diminishing front-loading activities could weigh on the city-state's economic growth over the next six to 12 months. /TISG Read also: Regional and domestically exposed sectors replace US export-oriented stocks in RHB's Top 20 Small Cap Jewels 2025 () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
