In official filing to US, S’pore denies trade surplus, rejects claims exports due to excess capacity

Singapore in an official submission has denied that it enjoys a trade surplus with the United States or that its exports to the world’s largest economy are due to some form of excess capacity.

In written public comments submitted to the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) regarding its Section 301 investigation launched on March 11, Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said it understands US concerns with structural excess capacity and is ready to further engage the US on this issue.

Singapore was one of the 16 economies against which the USTR launched an investigation into the acts, policies and practices relating to structural excess capacity and production in certain manufacturing sectors.

The US government launched a series of probes to impose new and harsher tariffs after the US Supreme Court in February struck down the legal basis of President Donald Trump’s signature levies – reciprocal tariffs – imposed in 2025.

Singapore’s submission to the USTR said: “The US has enjoyed a consistent trade surplus with Singapore for over 20 years.”

MTI cited data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis – an agency of the US Department of Commerce – showing that the US had a US$1.9 billion goods trade surplus and a US$25.1 billion services trade surplus with Singapore in 2024. Both the US’ goods and services trade surpluses with Singapore grew in 2025 to US$3.6 billion (S$4.6 billion) and US$29.6 billion, respectively.

Also, data from the US Census Bureau shows that the US ran trade surpluses with Singapore in 2024 in two of the three sectors highlighted in USTR’s Section 301 Initiation Notice, which is a formal announcement of an investigation.

In 2024, the US ran a trade surplus with Singapore in semiconductors and electrical equipment of US$1.8 billion and petrochemicals at US$463 million.

The trade surpluses for these sectors grew in 2025 to US$3.8 billion and US$547 million, respectively.

In terms of pharmaceuticals, the US ran a trade deficit against Singapore in 2024 of US$17.7 billion. Notably, the US trade deficit with Singapore for pharmaceuticals shrank in 2025 to US$12.9 billion.

Offering evidence of the Republic’s adherence to fair trade practices, MTI said Singapore during the entire period of its trade relations with the US was only once named as a respondent in a US anti-dumping investigation, in 2019.

Dumping in international trade refers to exports of a product at a price lower than its domestic price or lower than the cost of production.

“The absence of repeated or multiple anti-dumping/countervailing duties investigations and determinations against Singapore suggests that Singapore’s industrial production is broadly aligned with market demand and healthy international trade norms,” the MTI submission said.

The two countries are also tied into a mutually beneficial economic relationship via the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (USSFTA). The USSFTA, which has been in force for over 20 years, was the US’ first FTA with a partner in the Asia-Pacific and remains its only FTA with a trading partner in South-east Asia.

Singapore is the third-largest Asian investor in the US, with foreign direct investment stock at US$71.7 billion in 2025. Bilateral trade and Singapore’s investments in the US support around 350,000 American jobs.

The USTR’s Section 301 Initiation Notice also states that Singapore continues to expand manufacturing capacity despite a recent drop in its industrial occupancy rate.

In response, MTI said occupancy rates for manufacturing-specific industrial spaces in Singapore have remained consistently high, at around 90 per cent, over the past five years, with reasonable buffers for frictional vacancy and cyclical factors.

Based on available statistics from brokers’ reports, Singapore’s occupancy rate is in line with global norms for industrial real estate, which range from 87 per cent to 96 per cent for advanced economies such as the US, United Kingdom, Sweden and Hong Kong.

Market indicators also show that there is no excess capacity in Singapore’s industrial property sector, MTI said, adding: “Land is a scarce resource in Singapore. It is not in the Government’s interest for land, including industrial land, to be under-utilised.”

USTR also launched a separate Section 301 investigation against 60 economies, including Singapore, for not adopting or effectively enforcing a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labour.

“Singapore does not condone the use of forced labour in supply chains and has a comprehensive framework to enforce against such illegal practices within our borders,” MTI said in the submission to USTR pertaining to that investigation.

There is no evidence of Singapore’s role in supply chains of goods associated with forced labour to the US. Singapore is not aware of any goods produced with forced labour that have been exported to the US from Singapore, the submission stated.

This is corroborated by data from the US Department of Labor (DOL) and the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Singapore is not identified among the 44 countries named in the US DOL’s 2024 List of Goods Produced by Child Labour or Forced Labour, nor any of its previous lists since the inception of this report in 2009.

The CBP, which can issue Withhold Release Orders if it suspects any shipments entering the US to be associated with forced labour, has never done so for any shipments from Singapore.

“Singapore does not condone the use of forced labour in supply chains and has a comprehensive framework to enforce against such illegal practices within our borders,” MTI said in the submission to USTR pertaining to that investigation.

“In the constructive spirit of the US-Singapore bilateral economic relationship, Singapore welcomes greater cooperation with the US to understand its perspectives on the design and enforcement of measures to prohibit the import of goods produced using forced labour across transnational supply chains.”

MTI’s submission mentioned local laws – the Penal Code 1871 and the Prevention of Human Trafficking Act 2014 – that criminalise forced labour.

It said relevant government ministries and agencies, such as the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Singapore Police Force, investigate complaints that allege a breach in any domestic laws.

Workers can also report issues of forced labour through the MOM complaint hotline, non-governmental organisation referrals or police reports.

The submission stated that Singapore remains a steadfast opponent of the use of forced labour.

In line with international standards against forced labour, which focus on addressing forced labour domestically, Singapore has a comprehensive legal framework to enforce the prohibition of illegal practices involving forced labour within its borders.

These efforts have produced dividends for Singapore and its trading partners by helping to prevent the spread of forced labour, the submission stated.

The USSFTA also contains a labour chapter, where labour laws are defined to include the prohibition of the use of any form of forced or compulsory labour.

“Singapore supports the goal of developing universal, practical and effective measures against forced labour. Singapore welcomes the opportunity to work with the international community through appropriate international platforms like the ILO (International Labour Organization), and bilaterally with the US, to address this transnational issue.”

The deadline for written submission to USTR ended at midnight on April 15, and public hearings will be held from May 5 to 8.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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