Trump's Nominee to Be Ambassador to Singapore Struggles to Defend Tariff Policies

President Donald Trump's ambassador-nominee to Singapore, Dr Anjani Sinha, struggled to defend America's tariff policies during an unexpectedly tough Senate confirmation hearing.

- Bhagyashree Garekar

The two-hour-long hearing on July 9, which featured four other hopeful nominees, kicked off soberly with an opening statement by Dr Sinha but turned into a testy back-and-forth with Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth when it came to question time.

"This is not a role you can just pick up on a whim, or because you think it will be glamorous, or because Singapore is a great place to live," Ms Duckworth said, even before she began firing off a volley of questions.

"Will you even be able to effectively lead our mission in Singapore? I have my doubts," said the senator, a combat veteran who had also raised tough questions during the confirmation hearing of Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in January.

She challenged Dr Sinha to answer how large the US trade surplus with Singapore was in 2024. When he faltered, mentioning US$18 billion (S$23 billion) as his answer, she pointed out that it was US$2.8 billion, before telling him that he was "off by a huge factor".

"If confirmed, how would you explain our friendship in Singapore to the President?" she asked.

"How would you explain to our friends in Singapore the President's threats to slap tariffs as high as 25 per cent on their country, given that the United States has a nearly US$3 billion trade surplus with Singapore?"