Singapore's New Task Force to Address Immediate Tariff Shock, and Also Plan for the Future

Businesses and workers in Singapore will get help to cope with the immediate impact of the recent US tariffs and, in time, new measures will be rolled out to ensure Singapore continues to thrive even as global trade is reshaped, and supply chains are reconfigured.

- Ovais Subhani

Speaking at the first press conference of the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce on April 16, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said the US' new tariff regime, its escalating trade war with China, and the threat of new levies on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals have caused significant uncertainty and downside risks to the global economy and Singapore.

Singapore, which currently imposes zero tariffs on US imports, is still subject to the baseline 10 percent rate. While much higher tariffs announced for other countries have been put on hold for a 90-day period, imports from China—Singapore's top trade partner—face a 145 percent tax.

"Given potential downside risks, we cannot rule out the possibility of a recession this year," DPM Gan said.

"Some companies in Singapore are already affected—for example, those who have manufacturing operations in China, or sell to manufacturers in China, are already seeing cancelled or deferred orders."

DPM Gan, who is also the Minister for Trade and Industry, was appointed to chair the task force by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on April 8 to support businesses and workers in response to sweeping new tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump.

DPM Gan said an economic slowdown will also impact jobs and wages, hence the task force will help Singapore companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, tackle their immediate challenges.

However, in the longer term, the disorderly imposition of tariffs and retaliatory measures will fundamentally undermine the rules-based multilateral system and reshape the global trading order.