Singapore weighs its options as US tariffs hit exports

Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said the government will keep talking with the United States to try to lower new tariffs, or taxes on imported goods. About one-third of Singapore's exports to the US — worth around $9.5 billion a year — are now taxed at 12.5 per cent. Gan made these comments in a written reply to a question in Parliament on September 8. He said the government wants to help businesses and workers deal with the higher costs, but will be very careful about what steps it takes.

The US put the higher tax rate on Singapore's goods partly because Singapore does not have a law banning imports made with forced labour. Forced labour means making people work against their will, often with no pay or under very harsh conditions. Gan said there is no proof that Singapore trades in goods linked to forced labour. However, without that specific law, the US placed Singapore in a group of countries facing the higher 12.5 per cent tariff rate.

Singapore also has not signed a special trade deal with the US called an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, or ART. This kind of deal could have helped Singapore avoid the higher tariff. But Gan said deals like this often come with extra rules, such as limits on selling goods to other countries. He said the government must study all of these effects carefully before making any decision.

Singapore is one of the world's biggest trading hubs. Every year, it handles about $2.5 trillion worth of goods and services trade. If Singapore had to check every product coming in for links to forced labour, businesses could face very high costs. Gan said companies would need to go through detailed checks on their supply chains — the network of steps used to make and deliver products — which could be hard when production happens in other countries.

The government has set up a group called the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce, or SERT, to keep an eye on how the tariffs affect workers and businesses. In October 2025, the government launched the Business Adaptation Grant to help companies change the way they work and make their supply chains stronger. This year's national budget also gives more money to programmes that help Singapore firms grow in new overseas markets.

Singapore has been actively talking with the US Office of the US Trade Representative, known as the USTR. Gan himself visited the US in August to hold discussions, and Singapore has also sent written comments to the USTR. Despite the new tariffs, Singapore and the US remain very close trade and investment partners. In 2025, goods traded between the two countries totalled $139.2 billion.

Singapore was the third-largest Asian investor in the US, with about US$53 billion invested. The US was Singapore's biggest investor, with $778.6 billion in investment stock in Singapore as of 2024. Together, the trade and investment links between the two countries support around 350,000 jobs in the US. Gan said the government's top priority right now is to help businesses and workers adjust while it carefully figures out the best next steps.