By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-03-12 05:51:44 | Updated at 2025-03-12 12:00:35
6 hours ago
Singapore’s top trade official has warned that a barrage of actions from the United States and other countries risks undermining global economic growth, in some of the strongest public comments underlining concerns in the trade-reliant nation.
“Many of us here in Asia watch with anxiety President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the US’ three largest trading partners, and his plans for more,” Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said on Wednesday at CNBC’s Converge Live in Singapore. Even if not all of Asia is directly affected, the impact of rising tariffs and trade wars could cause major disruptions to supply chains and slow trade and investment flows, he said.
That would “significantly set back the growth of the global economy”, said Gan, who is also the minister for trade and industry.
Singapore built much of its success on having an open economy and strategically located port, and remains a key exporter of higher-value-added goods including electronics and pharmaceuticals. But along with other trade-dependent nations, it has closely tracked the US president as he unleashes tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, rattling markets and drawing retaliation from Ottawa and Beijing.
A sweeping 25 per cent US tariff on steel and aluminium imports to America was set to take effect on Wednesday. Other countries have also followed in Washington’s footsteps, imposing trade restrictions on or looking into China’s steel exports.
