Beyond FTAs, bear in mind winners and losers from trade

Brussels

IN THE face of anti-globalisation sentiment, the European Union-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) is an important signal of commitment to open trade.

While some have blamed anti-globalisation sentiment for the trade deal's long journey from the start of talks in 2010 till its final ratification stages today, Singapore's Ambassador to the European Union Jaya Ratnam said: "I wouldn't think that anti-globalisation per se played a role (in the timeline)."

In an interview with the Singapore media in Brussels on Wednesday, he said one reason for the long process was that the EU had to work out some technical issues.

"But anti-globalisation certainly played a role in how the EU looks at trade, and how we ourselves look at trade, in terms of how we deal with larger societal issues, "he added.

Bearing in mind that there are "winners and losers" from globalisation and free trade, both the EU and Singapore are "spending a lot of time and effort and money" to deal with the displacement arising from shifts in technology and trade patterns.

"Even as we do move forward in FTAs, we also have to move forward in terms of transformation of our own societies," Mr Ratnam said.

Summing up the significance of the EUSFTA, he said: "It is clearly a major step forward for us in our relationship with the European Union.

"For the EU, the EUSFTA has always been part of their engagement of the region... It's a step forward for them in terms of engaging Asean, and more importantly as a pathway towards reaching FTAs with other Asean countries and hopefully, eventually, an FTA with the region."

Mr Ratnam has served as Ambassador to the EU since 2016, and is concurrently the Ambassador to Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

"I have been very fortunate to represent Singapore, because Singapore is a brand name in the EU," he said.

Those who know Singapore "have a high respect for us", and even those who have not been to Singapore have heard about its governance and principles.

"I think that has helped us greatly in the way we do work here. When we say we are from Singapore, it carries a certain resonance with people that we engage here, a certain expectation of how we carry ourselves and how we engage. That really builds trust in the relationship, which of course helps reach agreements," he said.