S'pore growth under pressure, DBS worst STI performer amid tariff woes

Singapore could be looking at slower growth after US President Donald Trump on April 2 announced a decision to impose a 10 per cent tariff on most goods imported into the US from Singapore and its key partners, with higher duties for many other countries, including those in Asean.

- Kang Wan Chern

"International trade and investments will suffer, and global growth will slow. Singapore will take a bigger hit than others, because of our heavy reliance on trade," Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in a five-minute video uploaded to his social media accounts on April 5.

The 10 per cent baseline tariffs for the US' trading partners around the world came into effect on April 5, while higher duties for other countries are due to start on April 9.

While Singapore has decided to not impose retaliatory tariffs, PM Wong warned that other countries may not exercise the same restraint.

China has already retaliated with additional tariffs of 34 per cent on US goods, and other countries will be weighing how to respond to Mr Trump's tariffs, which are now at their highest level in more than a century.

A strong global response to America's tariffs is expected, and this "may well end up with a full-blown global trade war", PM Wong said.

His warning came after Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong on April 3 said that Singapore is reassessing its 2025 growth forecast, and is prepared to support households and businesses if the situation deteriorates.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry currently has a gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for 2025 of 1 per cent to 3 per cent.

Maybank, which on April 3 downgraded its growth forecasts for the six Asean economies it covers, including Singapore, was among the first to lower its GDP estimates for the Republic, by 0.5 percentage point to 2.1 per cent in 2025, and 0.5 percentage point to 1.8 per cent in 2026.