S'pore, US toast 10-year success of bilateral FTA

Singapore

TEN years after coming into force, the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (USSFTA) has paid rich dividends to both countries, by reinvigorating bilateral trade and investment and opening up new opportunities for companies, according to top diplomats from Singapore and the United States.

Speaking at a seminar organised by the American Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Singapore Ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh hailed the USSFTA as "a great success story". He pointed out that for the US, the agreement has boosted exports of goods to Singapore by more than 85 per cent over the 10-year period, and exports of services by more than 100 per cent. For Singapore, exports of services to the US have gone up 108 per cent, but exports of goods have fallen 26 per cent. However, total bilateral trade has grown by more than half.