Singapore : Against the backdrop of rising protectionism and a raging trade war, two stout proponents of free trade have shown there is another way: a free flow of goods and services.
The European Union and Singapore signed the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, which will boost services, improve market access, and see tariffs between both parties eliminated in five years.
In signing the deal on Friday, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, President of the European Council Donald Tusk and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker pledged to continue pushing for global free trade.
“The signature of the EU-Singapore agreements is a strong message by like-minded partners to defend and promote an international system based on rules, cooperation and multilateralism,” said Juncker.
Lee called the deal a high quality agreement that will significantly benefit companies from both parties.
The US and China are locked in a tit-for-tat trade war, with both sides slapping tariffs on hundreds of billion dollars’ worth of goods.
