SINGAPORE: The US wants to explore “creative solutions” for some critical exports from Singapore, including pharmaceuticals, as both sides discuss concessions on the global tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said on Sunday (Apr 27).
Mr Gan, who is also Minister for Trade and Industry, told reporters that he spoke to his US counterpart, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, on Friday when they identified key areas to address.
“Secretary Lutnick has emphasised several times that he’s prepared to start this discussion with us, because we are a friend, an important trading partner, and because the US trusts Singapore,” he told reporters at One Punggol.
Mr Gan chairs the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce, looking into the impact of the tariffs on the country.
He is also the anchor minister for the People’s Action Party (PAP) team contesting Punggol GRC in this General Election.
He said he decided to take some time off the campaign trail to take the call, as it was “an important discussion” to have and one which turned out to be “very good”.
Mr Trump on Apr 2 announced sweeping tariffs on all imports, with a baseline rate of 10 per cent on countries that include Singapore. Dozens of other trading partners, including China, were slapped with higher tariffs.
While there is now a 90-day pause on most of the hefty “reciprocal tariffs”, the baseline 10 per cent duty kicked in on Apr 5.
Mr Gan said Mr Lutnick explained during their call that the 10 per cent baseline tariff is an umbrella one which is “not likely to be subject to negotiation”.
“However, he also pointed out that Singapore being an important trading partner and a friend, he would like to explore creative solutions to see how we can strengthen the bilateral trade between Singapore and the US, particularly with regard to critical exports from Singapore to US, exports that are important to us,” he said.
This could include products such as pharmaceuticals, which is something “very important” to Singapore, contributing over 10 per cent of the country’s exports to the US, said Mr Gan.
