The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Free Trade Agreement A free-trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occ ...

was signed 6 May 2003 and ratified by the

US House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

on 24 July 2003 by a vote of 272-155. The

US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

ratified the bill on 31 July 2003 by a vote of 66-32. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

signed into law the United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act on 3 September 2003. The trade pact was implemented by both countries on 1 January 2004. SingaporeUS FreeTrade

In addition to lowering of tariffs, the agreement also allowed easier movement of citizens from both countries. With its implementation, it became possible for some Singaporean citizens to reside in the United States for extended periods of time. Business people and traders with E1 or E2 visa are now allowed a two-year stay period but an indefinite extension is allowed. Professionals with H-1B1 visa are allowed to stay for a maximum period of up to 18 months but indefinite extension can be applied for. There is an annual quota of 5,400 visa for Singaporeans, but this quota has yet to be reached to date. Any unused quota is transferred to the general pool for use by citizens of other countries. United States citizens coming to Singapore are allowed to work in most business occupations for 3 months without a visa or Professional Visit Pass.

Competition chapter

Chapter 12 of the agreement proscribes conduct to promote competitive market behavior. The chapter broke new ground among U.S. FTAs for its obligations related to government enterprises. A government enterprise was a "covered entity" for purposes of the FTA if the Government of Singapore owned any special voting shares, with the exception of enterprises operating only for investing Singapore Government reserves. Even if the Singapore Government did not own any shares in an enterprise, enterprises with revenue over an adjusted threshold could still be a covered entity if there was ''"effective influence"'' from the Government. Effective influence exists where the government owns more than 50% of the voting rights, or can exercise substantial influence over the management. If the government owns less than 50% of the voting shares, but more than 20%, there is a presumption of effective influence that the Government of Singapore can rebut. Having broadly defined government enterprises, the chapter goes on to proscribe several obligations subject to the FTAs dispute settlement provisions. Singapore agreed to ensure that its government enterprises acted in accordance with commercial considerations and that they do not enter into anti-competitive dealings with competitors. Singapore also agreed to annually publish a report detailing its ownership and relationship with all covered entities, offer the names of any government officials serving as officers or directors, and the entity's annual revenue or total assets. Furthermore, Singapore is obligated to take no action or attempt at influencing decisions of its government enterprises, and at the same time continually reduce, with the goal of substantially eliminating, its ownership and other interests in enterprises.

Views in favor of US-Singapore FTA

Proponents of the US-Singapore FTA claim that the reduction of trade barriers between the two countries will lead to a growth in exports.
USTR Site on Singapore FTA

Views opposed to the US-Singapore FTA

In announcing the deal, President Bush hailed Singapore as "a strong partner in the war on terrorism and a member of the coalition on Iraq."

Asia Times ''Asia Times'' (), formerly known as ''Asia Times Online'', is a Hong Kong-based English language news media publishing group, covering politics, economics, business, and culture from an Asian perspective. ''Asia Times'' publishes in English and ...

columnist Jeffrey Robertson argued that the deal was a reward for Singapore's support of the Iraq invasion. The suggested ''quid pro quo'' may be dubious, since the FTA negotiations with Singapore were begun by President Clinton and concluded around the same time as the FTA with Chile (also started by Clinton), which was not a coalition partner.
Citizens' Trade Campaign Site on Singapore FTA

See more

Rules of Origin Rules of origin are the rules to attribute a country of origin to a product in order to determine its "economic nationality". The need to establish rules of origin stems from the fact that the implementation of trade policy measures, such as tari ...

Market access In international trade, market access is a company's ability to enter a foreign market by selling its goods and services in another country. Market access is not the same as free trade, because market access is normally subject to conditions or req ...

Free-trade area A free-trade area is the region encompassing a trade bloc whose member countries have signed a free trade agreement (FTA). Such agreements involve cooperation between at least two countries to reduce trade barriers, import quotas and tariffs, and ...

Tariffs A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and po ...

References

Other references

Congressional Research Service Report on Singapore FTACongressional Research Service Report on "Free Trade Agreements with Singapore and Chile: Labor Issues"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singapore-United States Free Trade Agreement 2003 in Singapore 2003 in the United States Economy of Singapore Free trade agreements of the United States Treaties concluded in 2003 Treaties entered into force in 2004 Singapore–United States relations Free trade agreements of Singapore