Singapore urges EU to forge trade deal
The Associated Press | May 9, 2006
Singapore Urges EU to Forge Trade Deal
SINGAPORE - Singapore on Tuesday urged the European Union to negotiate a free trade agreement to strengthen their trade and investment ties.
Such an agreement with the EU could "truly bind us together in a strategic compact that will catalyze the flow of trade, investment, ideas and people," Lim Hng Kiang, Singapore’s trade and industry minister, told a luncheon meeting of the European Chamber of Commerce.
Trade-dependent Singapore is one of the world’s biggest proponents of free trade _ lowering or eliminating tariffs and other forms of protection _ and has already signed agreements with the U.S., Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the European Free Trade Association, which groups Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Last year it signed the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with India, which promotes trade in goods and services and cooperation in customs duties, science and technology, education, e-commerce and intellectual property rights.
Lim said the EU-ASEAN Vision Group has made good progress in putting together a framework free-trade pact for the E.U. and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Singapore is a member.
However, since the EU is Singapore’s second-largest trading partner, it is only logical that the two should seek a free trade accord, Lim said.
Trade between the EU and Singapore totaled 84 billion Singapore dollars (US$53.4 billion; euro42.1 billion) last year, Lim said.
Lim said Singapore plans to double manufacturing output to S$300 billion (US$191 billion; euro150 billion) by 2018. He said European companies in the fields of chemicals, biomedical and environmental technology could help the city-state achieve its goal.
"We see a strong business case for an EU-Singapore FTA," he said. "For example, strong and wide-ranging commitments in investment and trade in services under such an agreement would clearly benefit E.U. companies."
The other areas of collaboration between European and Singaporean companies could be in the fields of renewable energy, biomedical sciences and digital media, he said.
Currently 2,400 European companies, including multinationals and small and medium enterprises, have offices in Singapore.
