Singapore

THE European Union (EU) hopes that its free-trade deal with Singapore will enter into force this year, said its top trade official on Friday.

This signals the EU's desire to press on with open trade, said Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, a day after US President Donald Trump announced steep tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. The commissioner, who is in Singapore this weekend for talks with Asean economic ministers, said: "We see that openness to trade can no longer be taken for granted, so it is all the more important to build bridges between nations."