US, Singapore on Brink of Sealing Free-Trade Pact
US, Singapore on Brink of Sealing Free-Trade Pact
SINGAPORE -- The United States and Singapore have completed the substance of a landmark free-trade agreement -- except for one last sticking point -- and hope to sign the deal by early next year, top trade officials said on Tuesday.
The last issue is the free transfer of capital in and out of Singapore and will be negotiated by Singapore's Finance Ministry and the US Treasury Department, said US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick at a press conference.
A free-trade pact would offer US companies a strategic foothold in South-east Asia, allowing them to set up regional headquarters in a clean, modern, and relatively safe nation at the heart of a sometimes chaotic region.
Singapore's Trade Minister Georgo Yeo said that the deal will benefit almost all sectors of the local economy, creating jobs and attracting more foreign investment. It would be the most comprehensive trade deal negotiated by Singapore to date, he said.
'After negotiating all night both sides have hammered out an FTA we can be proud of -- except for the one remaining problem,' BG Yeo said.
The pact promises to liberalise Singapore's legal and financial services, enhance its intellectual property protection, impose US-approved standards on environmental and labour rights and even allow the US to bring some chewing gum to Singapore, said Mr Zoellick.
Mr Zoellick said that the US would be allowed a 'modest entry point that is controlled in a certain fashion' for chewing gum, but he declined to give specifics. Singapore has outlawed the import, manufacture and sale of chewing gum since 1992.
The two countries could sign the landmark pact early next year. If that happens, it will take effect from 2004, said Mr Zoellick.
The deal will be the first US free-trade agreement in Asia; for Singapore, it will be the most significant of a slew of recent trade pacts.
The US is Singapore's second-largest trading partner, and a deal could significantly boost the estimated US$23 billion already invested here by US companies.