UK, S’pore sign trade deal as EU talks falter

BRITAIN on December 10 signed a free-trade deal with Singapore, giving it a key foothold in Asia as it seeks to forge its own path after leaving the EU, while talks on a post-Brexit deal stumble.

The agreement largely replicates an existing EU-Singapore agreement, with the city-state’s trade ministry saying it will cover more than £17 billion ($22 billion) in trade.

It removes ta r i f fs, g ives bot h countries access to each ot her’s markets in ser vices and cuts nonta rif f barriers in electronics, cars and vehicle parts, pharmaceutica l product s, medica l dev ices a nd renewable energ y generation, t he ministr y said.

Duties will be eliminated by November 2024, the same timeline as the pact between the EU and Singapore, a former British colony that maintains close links with London.

The agreement “provides British businesses a platform to access oppor t unit i e s i n t he re g i on through Singapore”, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said as he signed the deal with his British counterpart Liz Truss.

“Beyond t he signif icant benef its to our respective businesses, t he [dea l] is a st rong statement against protectionism and nativism,” Chan sa id, adding t hat it w i l l be “cr ucia l i n ensu r i ng a st rong a nd resi l ient post-pa ndemic recover y for t he world”.

Britain signed its first major postBrexit trade deal with Japan in October, but December 10’s agreement is its first with a member of ASEAN.

The 10-country bloc is home to 650 million people and – prior to the pandemic-induced downturn – had enjoyed rapid economic growth in recent years.

The deal came after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gave themselves until December 13 to decide on the future of post-Brexit negotiations, following a three-hour dinner that left the two sides “far apart”.

Britain and the EU are running out of time to reach an agreement on a future trading relationship before the end of a post-Brexit transition period at the end of the year.