S'pore Firms Hope for More Support as They Face Challenges Amid Tariffs

Changing Tariff Timelines, Constant Trump Threats Complicate Situation

- Krist Boo

For the past three months, business owner Ernie Koh has been cycling through various scenarios in his head, pending finalisation of tariff rates for Vietnam.

Mr Koh is director of Koda, a Singapore-listed furniture firm with operations in Malaysia, China and — most crucially — Vietnam, which struck a trade deal with the Trump administration on July 2.

He has scenarios for both good and bad outcomes for Vietnam, and more "what-ifs" that pit Vietnam against other markets that his competitors operate in, such as India, Malaysia and Indonesia.

But the lack of detail on the tariffs and how other countries will be affected has created something of a Rubik's cube for firms trying to navigate these testing new waters.

When US President Donald Trump declared sweeping global tariffs in April and warned countries not to sneak Chinese products into America through false declarations, Mr Koh asked his import shipping company to detail the amount of Chinese-sourced material in his products.

"It's only 6 per cent. Some of the fabric you cannot source anywhere outside of China," he said, pointing out that there are four or five Singapore companies making furniture in Vietnam.

The US is the biggest export market for Vietnam, and the biggest buyer of its furniture. The country has won a reduced 20 per cent tariff on its goods to the US, and 40 per cent on transshipped goods.

About 70 per cent of the finished products from Koda, which was set up in 1972, end up in US homes through stores such as Crate & Barrel, big-box retailers like Costco, and other brands it manufactures for.

Mr Koh hopes the Singapore Government will turn its eye to businesses like his — Singapore-registered but operating overseas — that have traditionally been seen as successful and needing little support.