US removes inaccurate claim of Singapore’s 2024 trade surplus from unfair trade probe; investigations ongoing: MTI

[SINGAPORE] The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has removed a statement that wrongly said Singapore ran a bilateral trade surplus with the US amounting to US$27 billion, from its Federal Register notice on investigations under Section 301 of the US Trade Act.

Announcing this in Parliament on Tuesday (Apr 7), Minister of State for Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang added that the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has clarified that the Republic instead ran a deficit of the same amount with the US in 2024.

The Singapore government will also be attending public hearings on investigations under Section 301 that will be held from May 5 to 8 in Washington, DC.

Gan was responding to questions raised in Parliament regarding the US’ initiation of two investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

The first investigation involves 16 economies over structural excess capacity and production in certain manufacturing sectors. The second probe involves 60 economies, including Singapore, into the acts, policies and practices relating to the importation of goods produced with forced labour.

Singapore was cited for excess global capacity in semiconductors despite having a trade deficit with the US.

The 60 economies were identified on the basis that none has adopted or effectively enforced a forced labour import prohibition to date.

“The Singapore government will continue to engage the United States constructively in the course of these investigations, and will provide further updates when ready,” said Gan.

She added that it would be premature to comment on the potential impact on the country’s export sectors or workers as the details are not yet available.

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Against this backdrop, the Section 122 tariff of 10 per cent imposed on Singapore’s exports to the US since Feb 24 of this year remains unchanged.

Responding to a supplementary question by Member of Parliament Alex Yam (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC) on whether the USTR had provided any indication to MTI on the reasons for Singapore’s inclusion, Gan said the US “has not given us reasons” for including the Republic under the Section 301 investigations.

“I think it is too early for us to speculate on the reasons as well as the outcomes of the investigation,” she said.

Nominated Member of Parliament Mark Lee later asked about the extent to which Singapore’s exports and re-exports to the US are exposed to heightened forced labour scrutiny, particularly where upstream inputs originate from higher-risk jurisdictions.

Gan said: “Singapore takes a strong stance, and we also criminalise forced labour in Singapore under various laws, including the Penal Code and the Prevention of Human Trafficking Act. Forced labour is also prohibited under the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore.”

She noted that addressing forced labour requires an effective international regulatory framework to investigate and positively identify such goods.

“Singapore will continue to work with international communities through appropriate international platforms,” she said.