What are Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Singapore?

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has 10 member states. Founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines in 1967, it was joined by Brunei (1984), Vietnam (1995), Laos and Burma (1997) and finally Cambodia (1999).
Thus, ASEAN, the world’s 5th largest economic bloc, is one of the world’s most integrated regional Free Trade Agreement in global value chains (notably electronics, textiles and automobiles).
Finally, ASEAN’s integration has already led to the elimination of almost all tariff lines between member states. The region also continues to engage in multilateral, regional and bilateral free trade agreements, as exemplified by the EU-Singapore and EU-Vietnam agreements.

ESFTA, which came into effect on January 1, 2003, eliminates tariffs on 99.8 percent of Singapore’s exports to EFTA members that are signatories to the regional Free Trade Agreement (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland).

The tariff preference is granted on the basis of the exporter’s declaration, no application is required. In addition, the ESFTA safeguards market access and provides a more predictable operating environment for service providers.

Finally, the free trade agreement only requires the importer, exporter or manufacturer to make a declaration on the originating status of the product. In order to obtain preferential tariff treatment in another Party, proof of origin in the form of a declaration of origin must be completed by an exporter of a Party for goods that qualify as originating in a Party and meet the other requirement.

The Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPSEP), also known as the P4, is a free trade agreement signed in 2005 between four countries in the Pacific region (Singapore, Chile, N-Z, Brunei) covering various economic policy issues.

It is a comprehensive free trade agreement, covering trade in goods, rules of origin, trade remedies, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, trade in services, intellectual property, government procurement and competition policy.

In addition, it provides for the reduction of all tariffs between member countries by 90% by January 1, 2006 and the reduction of all trade tariffs to zero.

The ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (AJCEP), which entered into force in December 2008, covers trade in goods, trade in services, investment and economic cooperation. The free trade agreement makes three major advances:

1. It eliminates tariffs on 84.5 percent of all tariff lines for exports from Singapore to Japan. In fact, goods originating in the AJCEP that are brought into Singapore from member countries and re-exported to those countries, without any processing in Singapore, are eligible for tariff concessions. Originating goods passing through the parties can also retain their originating status.

2. It allows third-party invoicing of goods: Customs authorities in importing countries can accept a certificate of origin when the sales invoice is issued by another country or company exporting the originating goods in various sectors, provided the goods meet the necessary requirements. This invoice can come from countries that are not parties to this free trade agreement.

3. It allows for regional cumulation: Raw materials originating from FTA parties can be taken into account when assessing the origin criteria of the final product manufactured in Singapore.

ASEAN and Japan have also launched several economic cooperation projects, including capacity building and technical assistance in areas of mutual interest. These include trade-related procedures, business environment, intellectual property rights, energy, information and communication technology, human resource development, small and medium enterprises, tourism and hospitality, transport and logistics, standards and compliance, among others.

Singapore and the Gulf States (Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar) signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on 15 December 2008 for free trade in goods and services and to extend the scope of free trade in government procurement of member states on a reciprocal basis.

The agreement addresses aspects of trade in goods, rules of origin, customs procedures, trade in services and government procurement. The industries that benefit most from this regional FTA are petrochemicals, jewelry, machinery, iron and aluminum.

Thus, the member states of the agreement enjoy a series of privileges:

The ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), which entered into force on May 17, 2010, provides the legal framework for ASEAN to implement the free movement of goods in the region.
This regional FTA builds on the Agreement on the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) and incorporates commitments on transparency, notification and trade facilitation to further deepen commitments among ASEAN member states.
Finally, the ATIGA replaces the previous ASEAN agreements listed in Annex 11 of the ATIGA.

The March 8, 2018 Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, also known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a multilateral free trade treaty signed on February 4, 2016, that aims to integrate the economies of the Asia-Pacific and Americas regions. The agreement includes Singapore, Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and Vietnam.
This regional FTA contains 30 chapters that deal with the reduction of customs duties, elements that remain the core of the agreement, but also intellectual property, environmental law, labor law, access to government procurement, an investment protection agreement.

In addition to its commitment to trade liberalization, Singapore ensures that its trade regulatory regime is consistent with international regulations and does not undermine its domestic economy.

Indeed, regular reviews of international treaties are conducted and amendments to laws are made to reflect changes in the international regulatory landscape. For example, the China-Singapore Agreement Upgrade Protocol (CSFTA) entered into force on October 15, 2019. The Protocol upgraded six chapters, namely those related to “Improvements in Rules of Origin” (ROOs), customs procedures and trade facilitation, trade remedies, trade in services, investment and economic cooperation.

This has resulted in:

1. Improvements in ROOs for preferential treatment of petrochemical exports with effect from January 1, 2020

2. Streamlined customs procedures

3. Improved market access in:

In addition, three additional chapters have also been added to the agreement, on e-commerce, competition policy and environment and trade.

EUSFTA (EU-Singapore) entered into force on November 21, 2019. This regional FTA has significant benefits for businesses, including:

The ASEAN-Hong Kong, China Free Trade Agreement (AHKFTA) that entered into force on February 10, 2021 is a comprehensive agreement encompassing trade in goods, trade in services, customs procedures and trade facilitation, intellectual propertý, economic and technical cooperation, dispute settlement and other related areas.
Thus, the AHKFTA will bring legal certaintý and improve market access for trade and investment, thus creating new business opportunities and further enhancing trade and investment flows between Hong Kong, China and ASEAN.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into effect on Saturday, January 1, 2022. The largest free trade area in the world, the regional FTA brings together 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Singapore, Australia, China, South Korea, Japan and New Zealand.

In substance, the RCEP provides for the simplification of trade procedures between its members, the elimination of customs duties for several thousand products, by integrating the issues of intellectual property, public procurement, or e-commerce.