S'pore's trade pact with U.S. will help speed up economy
S'pore's trade pact with U.S. will help speed up economy
Associated Press, Singapore
Singapore's landmark free trade pact with the United States
would help restructure the city-state's struggling economy and
increase the flow of trade and talent across the Pacific, its
trade minister said on Friday.
"The Free Trade Agreement will bring many benefits to
Singaporean businesses and create new and good jobs," said George
Yeo, Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry.
"It will help us in our economic restructuring and make us
more competitive in the global marketplace."
Late on Thursday, the U.S. Senate voted 66-32 in favor of the
U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, representing strong
bipartisan backing for the deal. The House of Representatives
approved the pact - United States' first with an Asian nation -
last week.
The two countries had been negotiating the deal for the past
two years before it was signed by Singapore Prime Minister Goh
Chok Tong and President George W. Bush in Washington in May.
In a statement, Singapore's Trade Ministry said the agreement
"underscores Southeast Asia's economic and strategic importance"
to the United States and was a signal of its confidence in the
region.
The deal, the ministry said, opened a "new chapter" in the two
countries' "robust" economic relationship.
It would eliminate tariffs totaling more than S$175 million
(US$100 million) a year on products that Singapore exports to the
United States Also, 5,400 professionals from Singapore would be
allowed to work in there under one-year, renewable visas.
An unlimited number of American skilled workers will be
allowed to work in those two countries under the program.
The Southeast Asian city-state is attempting to shift to a
services-oriented economy after years of relying on
manufacturing. It has also declared it would focus more on
biomedical sciences, arts and media to attract investment.
Singapore, a country of 4 million with no natural resources,
is the United States' 12th largest trading partner with two-way
trade of about S$70 billion ($40 billion).
The new deal offers strong deterrence against intellectual
piracy and counterfeiting, which cost the U.S. motion picture,
music and publishing industries billions of dollars in losses
every year.
Free trade pacts have become a cornerstone of the island
republic's economic policy in recent years, signing deals with
Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and
Liechtenstein.
It is currently negotiating new deals with India and Canada.
This agreement will take effect Jan. 1, 2004.