The U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement: Effects After Five Years

[Excerpt] The U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA) (P.L. 108-78) went into effect on January 1, 2004. This report provides an overview of the major trade and economic effects of the FTA over the three years ending in 2006. It also includes detailed information on key provisions of the agreement and legislative action. The U.S.-Singapore FTA has taken on new importance in trade policy because the United States is engaged in negotiations to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP negotiations are the first major market-opening initiative of the Obama Administration. On December 14, 2009, United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk notified Congress of the intent to enter into the TPP negotiations. The objective is to shape a high-standard, broad-based regional free trade agreement with Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. The first round of negotiations began March 15, 2010, in Sydney, Australia. The U.S.-Singapore FTA has provided greater access for U.S. companies, has been instrumental in increasing bilateral trade, and has provided reassurance to Singaporeans of U.S. interest in the country. As a city-state, Singapore operates as an entrepot with essentially free trade. Under the FTA, concessions dealt mainly with providing greater access for American service providers and with strengthening the business environment in areas such as the protection of intellectual property rights and access to government procurement. In 2009, the United States ran a $6.6 billion surplus in its balance of merchandise trade with Singapore, up from$1.4 billion in 2003, but down from the $12.0 billion in 2008. U.S. exports of goods to Singapore surged from$16.6 billion in 2003 to a peak of $27.9 billion in 2008 before declining to$22.3 billion in 2009. Even with this rapid increase in U.S. exports to Singapore, the U.S. share of Singapore’s imports has declined from 16% in 2003 to 12% in 2009. The main reason for this is that Singapore’s overall trade is booming. Still, Singapore imports more from the United States ($28.5 billion) than from China ($26.0 billion).The U.S. balance of trade in services with Singapore declined from a surplus of $4.0 billion in 2001 to$1.2 billion 2005 but has risen to $4.2 billion in 2008. A significant increase has been in income from U.S. direct investments in Singapore. U.S. access to the Singaporean market for multinational corporations seems to have been enhanced considerably under the FTA. U.S. income from assets in Singapore rose from$6.7 billion in 2003 to $21.1 billion by 2008. On the U.S. import side (Singapore’s exports), a noteworthy development is that U.S. imports of pharmaceuticals from Singapore have risen from$0.09 billion in 2003 to $3.0 billion in 2007 before declining to$2.0 billion in 2008. Singapore has developed as a regional center for multinational pharmaceutical companies. This apparently was partly triggered by provisions in the FTA that required Singapore to strengthen its intellectual property protection. Negotiations for the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade agreement were launched under the Clinton Administration in December 2000. The FTA became the fifth such agreement the United States has signed and the first with an Asian country. This report will be updated as circumstances warrant

The U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement: Effects After Three Years

The U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA) (P.L. 108-78) went into effect on January 1, 2004. This report provides an overview of the major trade and economic effects of the FTA over the three years ending in 2006. It also includes detailed information on key provisions of the agreement and legislative action. The U.S.-Singapore FTA has provided greater access for U.S. companies, has been instrumental in increasing bilateral trade, and has provided reassurance to Singaporeans of U.S. interest in the country. As a city-state, Singapore operates as an entrepot with essentially free trade. Under the FTA, concessions dealt mainly with providing greater access for American service providers and with strengthening the business environment in areas such as the protection of intellectual property rights and access to government procurement. In 2006, the United States ran a $6.9 billion surplus in its merchandise trade with Singapore, up from$1.4 billion in 2003. U.S. exports of goods to Singapore surged by 49% from $16.6 billion in 2003 to$24.7 billion in 2006. However, even with this rapid increase in U.S. exports, the U.S. share of Singapore’s imports declined from 16% in 2003 to 13% in 2006. This suggests that factors other than the FTA, particularly the overall growth in Singapore’s imports, contributed greatly to the increase. Major U.S. exports to Singapore include machinery, electrical machinery, aircraft, optical and medical instruments, plastic, and mineral fuel oil. On the U.S. import side, a noteworthy development is that imports of pharmaceuticals from Singapore have risen dramatically from $0.09 billion in 2003 to$2.4 billion in 2006. The FTA did not lower the U.S. tariff rate for pharmaceuticals, since they already enter the United States duty free. What appears to have occurred has been the development of Singapore as a regional center for multinational pharmaceutical companies that are stepping up exports. Negotiations for the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement were launched under the Clinton Administration in December 2000. The FTA became the fifth such agreement the United States has signed and the first with an Asian country. According to the U.S. Trade Representative, the FTA broke new ground in electronic commerce, competition policy, and government procurement. It also included what the U.S. Trade Representative considers to be major advances in intellectual property protection, environment, labor, transparency, and customs cooperation. The U.S.-Singapore FTA required congressional implementation under expedited Trade Promotion Authority legislative procedures. The debate over implementation of the FTA fell between business and free trade interests who would benefit from more liberalized trade, particularly in services, and labor or antiglobalization interests who opposed more FTAs because of the overall impact of imports on jobs and the general effects of globalization on income distribution, certain jobs, and the environment. Specific provisions of the agreement also generated debate. This report will be updated as circumstances warrant

Bilateral “WTO-Plus” Free Trade Agreements: The WTO Trade Policy Review of Singapore 2004

The World Trade Organisation’s 2004 Trade Policy Review of Singapore (WTO-TPR Singapore 2004) depicts the small and outward-oriented economy as one of the most open country to international trade and investment. The review highlights the benefits of the outward-oriented strategy that has enabled the Singapore economy to weather recent external shocks such as the Asian financial crisis to the SARS and to the recent unfavourable conditions in the Middle East. In particular, the report commended Singapore’s efforts on its liberalization of the services sector and its economic benefits to consumers and global trade. However, the WTO-TPR Singapore 2004 highlights several key areas of concerns: (a) the commitment to multilateral agreements with the rising number of bilateral free trade agreements signed by Singapore and (b) the lack of growth of total factor productivity, a key indicator for long-run efficiency of the economy. The paper addresses the above key concerns raised in the WTO’s TPR of Singapore in terms of its commitment to global trade in terms of WTO-plus bilateral FTAs, which intends to support multilateral trading system, and its overall industrial strategies to raise its competitiveness.

Imaging in the Lion City: Singapore Radiology Country Report

Singapore is a small tropical island city-state with limited natural resources that has achieved remarkable healthcare outcomes through effective long-term planning and judicious investment in human resources and technology. A full-range of medical imaging services is available in the country, with integrated care delivered to patients through a network of both government and private hospitals. Training in diagnostic radiology, interventional radiology, nuclear medicine and diagnostic radiography continue to evolve in Singapore, with an aim to further increase the range of subspecialty medical imaging services available and address projected challenges for the healthcare system in the future, such as an aging population. Continued government investment in technology and biomedical imaging is expected to further expand the scope and depth of medical imaging services in the future

Information Policy Country Report: Singapore

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64846/1/IPOL country report - Singapore (2009).pd

Country Report: The Teaching of Philosophy in Singapore Schools (Part 2)

This country report provides an update on the status of Pre-University Philosophy education in Singapore

ANALYSIS OF THE NEED FOR LABOR MIGRATION POLICY IN SINGAPORE

Singapore is categorized as a Developed Country because of its developed trading industry among Southeast Asian countries. The existence of Singapore is inseparable from the presence of residents. As is known, most residents of Singapore are the result of migration policies due to the lack of population.  Singapura recorded a record decline in people over the past year. The government's annual brief report revealed that the restrictions and conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic were one of the leading causes. Singaporean population also fell 0.7% to 3.5 million, while permanent residents (PR) fell 6.2% to 0.49 million. This is the first drop from YoY, both in population and population since data was collected in 1970. Migration is the movement of people from one area to another aimed at living sedentary, which goes beyond the administrative/political boundaries. The move made by a resident is usually immigrant because he has the desire to live a sedentary life for a long time. This research uses a qualitative descriptive method with literature review research. The results showed that one of the factors driving migration from Indonesia to Singapore was the lack of labor in Singapore. The process of self-formation into a Singaporean identity through migration, adaptation, and integration stages. Singapore has a policy toward migrant workers. The policy is specifically related to skills and age. If workers’ skills do not meet the criteria, the Government applies a policy to upgrade skills by conducting certified training. The Basic Skill Certificate (BSC) and Skill Evaluation Certificate (SEC) have been implemented since 1998

How trade and macroeconomic policies affect economic growth and capital accumulation in developing countries

The author of this report provides cross-country empirical evidence on the relationship between trade and macroeconomic policy and economic growth. He finds that countries following sustainable strategies perform better than those following unsustainable strategies. Indeed, unsustainable policies hurt growth. Sustainable policies (as in Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Malaysia) promote exports and lead to real exchange rates that are either fully aligned or even undervalued for prolonged periods of time but are relatively stable. Unsustainable policies (more common in developing countries) include polices that tax export and overvalue exchange rates for extended periods, leading to periodic balance of payments crises and a highly unstable real exchange rate. The author also finds that: (a) export promotion policies generate faster growth than policies that remove import restrictions; (b) economic instability and foreign debt are key determinants of capital growth; and (c) contrary to conventional belief, capital accumulation appears to be stimulated by direct export restrictions and does not seem to be directly affected by economic instability.Achieving Shared Growth,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Growth,Economic Stabilization,Economic Theory&Research