00:00What the US is doing now is not reform.
00:08It is rejecting the very system it created.
00:12In Singapore's case, we have an FTA with America.
00:15We impose zero tariffs on US imports and we actually run a trade deficit with the US,
00:22meaning we buy more from them than they do from us.
00:25If the tariffs were truly reciprocal, and if they were meant to target only those with
00:30trade surpluses, then the tariff for Singapore should be zero.
00:36But still we are being subjected to the 10% tariff.
00:41We are very disappointed by the US move, especially considering the deep and long-standing friendship
00:47between our two countries.
00:51These are not actions one does to a friend.
00:54If other countries adopt the same approach as the US, the rules-based trading system
00:59will unravel.
01:01This will spell trouble for all nations, but smaller countries like Singapore will face
01:06greater pressures, because small countries have limited bargaining power in one-on-one
01:12bilateral negotiations.
01:15So the major powers will dictate the terms and we risk being marginalised and sidelined.
01:21The likelihood of a full-blown global trade war is growing.
01:27Singapore has decided not to impose retaliatory tariffs.
01:30Doing so will only lead to increased costs for Singaporeans.
01:35But other countries may not be guided by the same considerations and may have different
01:42perceptions and views.
01:44What's troubling is not just the tariffs themselves, which are already damaging, but the fact that
01:50this new wave of protectionism is unpredictable and unstable.
01:56Protectionism is already bad, unstable, protectionism is even worse.
02:01In this new environment, Singapore must redouble our efforts to remain a key node in global
02:07flows and a trusted business hub.
02:11We will forge closer links with like-minded partners who share our commitment to open
02:16and free trade.
02:18The US may have decided to turn protectionist, but the rest of the world does not have to
02:24follow the same path.
02:26We will identify other partners to join us and work around this to ensure resilience
02:32and maintain critical parts of the multilateral system, while laying the foundations for a
02:38possible new and different global system that can be achievable later.
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