Washington, D.C. –The United States and Singapore held their sixth annual review of the implementation of their Free Trade Agreement (FTA) today. Assistant United States Trade Representative Barbara Weisel led the U.S. delegation and Deputy Secretary Koh Lin-Net of the Ministry of Trade and Industry led the Singaporean delegation.
The two sides reviewed implementation of the agreement and the growth in bilateral economic trade and investment. Since the FTA came into force in 2004, job creating U.S. goods exports have increased 34 percent, with goods exports totaling $22.2 billion in 2009. Trade in services also is up, with U.S. exports of $9 billion to Singapore in 2008 (the latest available data), up 60 percent from 2004. Foreign direct investment in both directions rose, with Singaporean investment in the United States totaling $22.9 billion last year and U.S. investment in Singapore totaling $76.9 billion.
During the review meeting the two sides exchanged views on issues and concerns related to agricultural and textile market access, intellectual property rights, regulations related to cable TV content, and other issues. The two sides also reviewed the past year’s activities under the Plan of Action for Environmental Cooperation, and reviewed the results of recent meetings in Singapore exploring ways to intensify joint work on labor issues, including worker rights and human resources development.
The U.S.-Singapore FTA also serves as a foundation for broader cooperation between the two countries regionally and multilaterally. The United States is engaging closely with Singapore on the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (TPP), a high-standard agreement that will serve as a platform for Asia-Pacific economic integration in a way that reflects U.S. priorities and values. The United States and Singapore also work together closely in other fora, including the WTO, ASEAN and APEC.
