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.