US And Singapore Close To Signing A Free Trade Agreement

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

08 October 2002

The fast-track trade negotiating authority recently gained by President Bush when Congress passed the Trade Promotion Authority Act looks to have an early success with a free-trade agreement (FTA) between the US and Singapore.

US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said this week that he expects to conclude FTA talks with Singapore by the end of December and sign a deal early next year. Under the fast-track rules, Congress then has to vote on the enabling bill in its entirety, and can't pick it apart or use it to piggy-back extraneous legislative oddities in exchange for votes.

The two governments are finalizing the FTA in London this week in a tenth round of talks, and the attention of Singaporean officials will now turn to the crucial process of drumming up support for the agreement in Congress.

This week will also see the establishment of a 'caucus' (political support group) on Capitol Hill, supported by the Singaporean Government, and a number of top US companies including Boeing, ExxonMobil and UPS, all major exporters to Singapore. The caucus is co-chaired by Curt Weldon (Rep., Pa) Solomon Ortiz (Dem., Texas) and is expected to attract more than 40 members.

With the help of the caucus, the FTA is expected to be approved by Congress. Trade between the US and Singapore is substantial and this will be the first FTA between the US and an Asian state.

Recommended