Changes to Singapore’s tariff task force after Cabinet reshuffle, SBF leadership change

[SINGAPORE] Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow is replacing former minister for national development Desmond Lee in the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce (Sert), with effect from May 27.

Teo Siong Seng, the newly elected chairman of the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), will also replace former chairman Lim Ming Yan as the task force’s SBF representative.

“We have adjusted Sert’s composition following the recent Cabinet and SBF council appointments,” said Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who chairs the task force, in a media release on May 27.

“Sert’s mandate remains unchanged,” he added. “We will continue to work with our tripartite partners to help our businesses and workers navigate the current uncertainties in global trade.”

At a May 16 doorstop – ahead of the new Cabinet being announced on May 21 – DPM Gan had noted that the task force line-up could change as it is based on the portfolios of ministers.

In the Cabinet reshuffle, Lee was appointed education minister and minister-in-charge of social services integration. Siow, who joined politics in the May 3 general election, was appointed Acting Transport Minister as well as Senior Minister of State for Finance.

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Meanwhile, Teo, who is executive chairman of homegrown carrier Pacific International Lines, became SBF chairman after his predecessor ended his term early. Lim stepped down earlier in May less than a year after he was re-elected for a third consecutive term, in light of his appointment as chairman of Changi Airport Group.

Teo had previously also chaired the SBF from 2014 to 2020.

The remaining task force members remain unchanged, including three other ministers.

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Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo and Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng retained these portfolios in the Cabinet reshuffle. Meanwhile, former transport minister Chee Hong Tat was appointed minister for national development.

The other tripartite members of the taskforce are National Trades Union Congress secretary-general Ng Chee Meng and Singapore National Employers Federation president Tan Hee Teck.