Singapore Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in singapore, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
Select Country Guide
Trade Agreements
Last published date:

As a nation with a small domestic market that depends on imports for food, energy, and industrial raw materials, Singapore places the highest priority on the multilateral trading system embodied by the World Trade Organization (WTO). As a member of the WTO, Singapore believes that the WTO can provide a stable framework for developing sound multilateral rules that ensure that goods and services can flow freely with minimum impediment. The primary objective of Singapore’s trade policy is to guard its trading interest by ensuring a free and open international trading environment.
| 
In tandem with its support of the WTO, Singapore advocates that trade efforts are undertaken in the regional context such as APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation), ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), as well as bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to accelerate the momentum of trade liberalization and strengthen the multilateral trading system. It has actively pursued a few legally binding arrangements with trading partners. The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) aims to create a single enlarged market of 600 million people and recognizing that regional economic integration is a dynamic and ongoing process, has initiated the AEC Blueprint 2025 which sets out the strategic measures covering partnership arrangements with the private sector, industry associations and the wider community at the regional and national levels.  
  
The U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has been in effect since 2004. Singapore has an extensive network of 27 implemented agreements with bilateral and regional FTAs including with Australia, China, Costa Rica, India, Japan, Jordan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Panama, Peru, Sri Lanka, European Union, United Kingdom and Turkiye. Singapore is a participant in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership regional trade negotiations, which include the ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries plus Australia, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, India, and New Zealand.  

Other economic agreements that Singapore has signed include Digital Economy Agreements, Double Tax Avoidance Agreements, International Investment Agreements and Mutual Recognition Agreements.

For more information, please visit Enterprise Singapore.
For additional information view https://www.trade.gov/free-trade-agreements-help-center
 

×

Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

Privacy Program | Information Quality Guidelines | Accessibility