Trump reciprocal tariffs could come by Thursday, White House says

If investments decline, job opportunities will decline. We are importing a lot of consumer goods and industrial goods from the US, and costs will increase and our businesses will suffer as their profits will be lower,

said Prof Loh

With the pull-back by the US, it’s only natural for China, as the next biggest economy, to step in to fill the void of global trade leadership. In fact, with all the protectionism, the US will lose the moral authority to shape world trade or even the global economy.”

Prof Loh from NUS said

Trump is using these tariffs as a punishment tool. There’s no relation between tariffs and illegal immigration, but he’s using it so (neighbouring countries) will be more vigilant in their border control and in the export of drugs.”

Prof Loh, who is director of the Centre for Governance and Sustainability, noted

Soon after COVID was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and sanctions were placed on companies (with ties to Russia) to a greater extent than ever before. The impact of those events in February 2022 were profound in terms of cutting off an entire market for many organisations,

said Mr Proudley

The spots on the leopard skin are the same. If you look at trade war one, you can learn a lot about what will happen in trade war two,

said Prof Loh

In any trade war, economic efficiency suffers and economic growth suffers, because you’re not operating at your optimal level and are upsetting the principle of comparative advantage,

said Prof Loh

Everybody was worried that we might be out of a job and that our customers might start looking for an alternative source. But they did not,

said Mr Khor

Today, the US is our top trading partner in services, our second largest in goods and our largest foreign investor. In fact, if you add up the stock of US foreign direct investment into Singapore, the US has invested more in Singapore than it has invested cumulatively in China, India, Japan, and the Republic of Korea combined,

said Dr Balakrishnan

In both markets the regulatory framework is in a state of flux and keeping up with changes is challenging. Being able to do business compliantly across the globe is getting harder and requires careful navigation of complex requirements,

Mr Proudley said

We need to keep calm, keep our eyes open, be very careful in what we say and how we behave. Playing it straight, saying the same thing to everyone, and meaning and doing what we say, is valuable,

said Dr Balakrishnan

Achieving complete independence from China is not feasible. The ‘China +1’ strategy, therefore, focuses on establishing alternative assembly plants outside China while continuing to rely on China for raw materials,

said Ms Nguyen

When we first started in 2002, there were no tariffs and we were paying around 2.9 per cent import tax. But when Trump first came into office (in 2017), everybody was like, ‘What’s going to happen

said the director of Singapore-based manufacturers’ representative firm Outsource Asia Industries

The direction of trade policy is not going to differ, but the intensity of efforts to speed up the opening of trade with alternative markets is likely to increase. These diversification efforts have been in the works since the previous Trump presidency, which heightened fears of a fragmented trade environment,

said Mr Cheng

Protectionism is essentially safeguarding self-interest and your local industries from foreign competition. In simple terms, you impose import barriers, one type of which is tariffs,

said Professor Lawrence Loh from the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School

(This ... This) will only deepen US concerns about Singapore’s capabilities to crack down on companies trying to circumvent US export controls targeting Chinese technology,

said Mr Cheng

Many of our members faced increased costs for key components, disruptions to established supply routes, and a general sense of uncertainty regarding future market access,

said Mr Tan

While global trade tensions create market uncertainties, our position gives us unique advantages – companies are increasingly seeking stable regional partners who understand both local and international compliance requirements,

Mr Tan noted

Additionally, initiatives that promote advanced engineering talent development and provide incentives for R&D by small and medium-sized enterprises and automation would enable SMEs like us to remain competitive against larger global players,

said Mr Lee

This story of the ship just showed the vulnerability of global trade to events. Supply chains are vulnerable to sanctions, export controls and other laws, so organisations are moving towards strengthening and bringing in their value chains,

he added

Through strategic diversification, proactive policy engagement and a commitment to innovation, our key sectors are well-positioned to thrive in a dynamic and sometimes uncertain global trade environment,

he said