CANBERRA: Malcolm Turnbull and the Singaporean prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, will on Thursday expand the free trade pact agreed between the two countries in 2003 to include more business in services. The extension of the trade deal is one of several to be signed over the course of Lee’s visit to Australia, including agreements on military training, combating transnational drug crime and a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on innovation and science.
The two leaders agreed in May to expand services exports under the existing free trade agreement. The extension will benefit the financial services, legal and education industries. The government says the expanded agreement will allow Australian financial service firms to provide advice in Singapore, including investment and portfolio management services and brokerage services for insurance of maritime, aviation and transport-related risks.
The update, to be formalised on Thursday, will also include e-commerce and telecommunications provisions identical to provisions in the Trans Pacific Partnership, which allows data to be shared across borders, and ensures customs duties cannot be imposed on electronically transmitted content. Before Thursday’s agreement, Australia’s trade minister, Steve Ciobo, said the potential for services exports was significant, “as Asia’s emerging middle class is projected to grow from 600 million today to 3 billion by 2030”.
“This is the most comprehensive update of an Australian free trade agreement and shows our FTAs are living agreements that can respond to evolving business needs,” he said. “The amendments make it easier for Australian business visitors, including service suppliers and investors, to work in Singapore; providing greater opportunities for services exporters; and creating greater certainty and reducing red tape for exporters of goods, services and investment.”
Lee opened his visit to Australia with an address to parliament – the first by a Singaporean prime minister. His speech referenced regional tensions. The visiting leader told MPs both countries benefited from regional stability. He said he regarded the United States as a “benign force” and welcomed China “engaging constructively with the region”. Malcolm Turnbull said the two countries were as one in rejecting the proposition that “might is right”.
