Transcript of the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce Press Conference

Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong:

First, let me welcome friends of the media to today’s press conference.

The world today is really very volatile and very uncertain. To just recap, the US had announced on 2 April that it would introduce a 10% baseline tariff on almost all countries, as well as higher reciprocal tariffs, on some countries. It has since proceeded with the 10% baseline tariff but has decided to defer the introduction of the ‘reciprocal tariffs’ by 90 days, except for China. Between the US and China, we have since seen an extremely worrying series of tit-for-tat, escalatory tariffs. In effect, Chinese goods imported to the US now will face a 145% tariff, whereas goods from the US imported into China will face a tariff of 125%. Trade between the US and China, amounting to over US$600 billion annually, is at risk of being choked off.

US and China are both key trading partners to Singapore. In fact, some companies in Singapore are already being affected – for example, those who have manufacturing operations in China, or sell to manufacturers in China for onward sales to the US, are already seeing cancelled orders or deferred orders. This dangerous game of brinksmanship between the US and China also risks greater tensions that can easily spill over to other countries or other areas.

It is also not clear at this point in time how negotiations between the US and other countries will proceed and whether it will be able to come to some agreed consensus or agreed position. And while we all hope that these negotiations will eventually lead to some mutually agreed outcomes, we cannot rule out the possibility that there will be some levels of reciprocal tariffs that will continue to be imposed on certain countries when we have passed the deferment period. This may in turn spark off more retaliatory actions by some of these countries.

The US has also signalled that there is a possibility of further tariffs in the pipeline. This would include tariffs on semiconductors as well as pharmaceuticals.

Taken together, these developments have caused significant uncertainty and downside risks in the global economy, and we must be prepared for more shocks, surprises and challenges going ahead.

This is the reason why MTI has announced yesterday that it will downgrade our GDP forecast for this year to between 0% to 2%. Given potential downside risks, we cannot rule out the possibility of a recession this year.

In the longer term, the disorderly imposition of tariffs and retaliatory measures will fundamentally undermine the rules-based trading order and reshape the global multilateral system. This will adversely affect small economies like Singapore which depends on trade to grow our economy and develop our economy. Let me explain.

If other countries decide to follow the US to also take targeted measures against specific countries – whether it is tariffs or non-tariff measures – this will mean that it is a total disregard of the core principle of “Most Favoured Nation”, to not discriminate against nations. Countries with the strongest economy will have the strongest bargaining power, and they will win, and smaller economies like Singapore, will lose.

Global trade flows, not just between the US and China, but global trade between all countries, will be even more fragmented. Companies will need to re-assess their production and supply chain configurations, and invest in building greater resilience in their operations, more than just focusing on cost effectiveness. This will mean products will come at a higher cost.

Given these significant uncertainties, the Prime Minister has asked me to set up this Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce to help our companies, especially our SMEs, to navigate these troubled waters. The Taskforce will comprise my Cabinet colleagues together with the Singapore Business Federation, the Singapore National Employers Federation, as well as the NTUC.

We have had a very good meeting earlier this afternoon to discuss how we will organise ourselves for the task ahead. In particular, we will establish three workstreams; I will provide an overview of these three workstreams and then I will ask my colleagues to share more.

First workstream is on information sharing and sensemaking. This is to strengthen our collective assessment of the developments as they evolve, as well as their impact on our businesses and our workers.

We will reach out and engage our businesses and TACs to share what we know, understand the implications for them, and communicate how our various schemes and measures can support them. Josephine will co-lead this workstream together with Ming Yan. Ming Yan is not with us today as he is overseas; and we have Mark Lee standing in for Ming Yan.

Second, on immediate support, to address the challenges faced by our businesses and workers.

As PM mentioned, at Budget 2025, we had rolled out a comprehensive package of measures for households and businesses. We will assess the situation and are ready to provide more support if necessary.

Our tripartite partners, See Leng, Hee Teck, as well as Chee Meng will lead this effort to assess the issues faced by our businesses, review if our support is adequate, and develop additional measures if necessary.

The third workstream is on longer term strategic planning. This is to help our businesses and economy transform and reposition ourselves in the new economic landscape.

As I had mentioned, there will be a fundamental reshuffling of production and supply chains going forward. Our businesses have to be nimble and adapt to the new world. This will also open up opportunities for our companies to explore new markets, as well as avenues to strengthen our resilience.

We will work with our businesses to look ahead, develop long-term plans, and move quickly to seize these opportunities. Minister Desmond and Minister Chee Hong Tat will lead this workstream together.

In parallel, the Government will continue to work with like-minded nations and economic partners to strengthen our economic partnerships – for example, between ASEAN and the GCC; and between the CPTPP and the EU – so that we can open up new opportunities for our businesses.

At the same time, we must also continue to engage the US to understand their concerns and work constructively with them to address issues in a mutually agreeable manner. Notwithstanding its recent actions, the US remains a key economic, technological and strategic partner for Singapore.

We are facing the most serious challenge to the global rules-based economic order.  We must be prepared for a more protectionist, unstable and fragmented world ahead.

But by working together with our unions and businesses, the Government will help our companies and our workers navigate these choppy waters in front of us. If we stay together, we can overcome the challenges, and seize new opportunities which come our way to create a better outlook for Singapore and to thrive in this new economic landscape.

Let me now invite my fellow Taskforce members to share more, starting with Josephine.

Minister for Digital Development and Information and Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo:

Thank you, DPM.

I will cover three points in my remarks. I will talk about why this workstream is necessary, I will talk about how we intend to carry out our work, and thirdly, let me also speak briefly to the concerns beyond the business community as well as the workforce.

First, why this workstream. As you heard from DPM Gan earlier, there will be a fundamental reshuffling of trade and investment flows. The impact is not going to be theoretical. Already, we know from the businesses that not everyone is adopting a wait-and-see attitude. Both on the demand side and the supply side, they are facing pressures, they are facing opportunities as well. So, when you put the two together, there is a need to connect the dots.

And the reason we want to do so is to get as full a picture as possible, in order to design suitable responses, both in the short term as well as in the long term.

But these dots are not static. They can shift overnight, unexpectedly and dramatically. One day, you have tariffs being introduced and companies are orientating in a certain direction. But the next day, some of the tariffs are being suspended, and the companies think that they need to reorientate again. And then yet another day, there is a tariff exclusion list.

So this very rapid changing of the scene means that the picture that we manage to compose is also going to be one that is transient in nature, and we must therefore continue to expect a degree of confusion.

The antidote to confusion is sensemaking, meaning that we must try and turn whatever noises that we pick up into insight, and out of this insight, to try and chart a path through the uncertainty.

In recent times, we've all been through COVID. It taught us many things, including the need for us to try and see the same picture, because the more we are able to do so, the more likely we can move forward together.

And so, ensuring that everyone can see a common picture, as it were, is a very important part of this workstream’s duties and responsibilities. So now let me talk a little bit about how we expect to carry out the work.

The first, of course, is to ensure that the Taskforce has diverse representation. And you heard from DPM already that apart from government representatives, we have representatives from the business community, from SBF and Singapore National Employers Federation. Of course, we also have representatives from the labour movement through the NTUC. There will be also a need for intensified engagements with the trade associations and chambers, plus the specific unions. Later on, the representative of my co-chair, Mark, will be able to say more about this.

The other part of how we will carry out our work is to put out on a regular basis, communications products. For example, Enterprise Singapore has already put out a frequently asked questions, or FAQs, on how do you deal with the suspension of the reciprocal tariffs, and we are looking at how to make these kinds of information even easier to understand and digest, so that they can travel and help as many businesses as well as union leaders as much as possible.

We will also look to set up dashboards so that we can look at the same set of metrics that will give us a sense of what the picture looks like. This is one way we can all try and establish a common understanding of the issues that we face.

We expect that there will be regular media updates. This could be through a conference like this, or there could be other opportunities, such as workshops and seminars that we may organise from time to time. So that's how we will carry out the work.

Let me conclude my remarks by also saying that beyond the business community and the workforce, within the broader population, there are also concerns. I think, my colleagues and I, especially those of us who have been making our rounds in our constituencies, we have certainly noticed that many Singaporeans are aware of these very sudden changes, and even though they may have expected it one way or the other, the scale and scope of change have signaled to them very clearly that these developments have to be taken very seriously.

Some seniors, particularly, remember past disruptions. They know that this could have very profound implications for Singapore. Sometimes when we meet tertiary students, whether they are from the university or from the polytechnics, they are also well-informed, and in particular, they want to know how these developments will impact their job prospects.

So engagements and communications outreach will include them as well as part of active citizenry. The goal is really to move forward and become more resilient together. The workgroup will therefore do our part to support the other two workgroups, to design and implement effective responses. So I'll pause right there and turn the mic over to Mark.

Singapore Business Federation Vice-Chairman Mark Lee:

Thank you, Minister Teo.

I will now cover the business sentiment on the ground. I think from what we see, the new US tariff has actually introduced a significant uncertainty for businesses. Many are actually adopting a wait-and-see attitude. They are either postponing their investments and expansion plans and they are waiting for more clarity on the scope, the enforcement and exemptions coming from the US.

Even those that are not directly exporting to the US, they are also watching global developments very, very closely before committing resources. I think overall, the businesses are concerned that global economic demand will slow.

And for Singapore-based firms that are embedded in the US and China supply chains, I think DPM has alluded to the fact that there is a band on 125% to 145% tariff bans. Now these are prohibitive, and some customers are already cancelling contracts, returning shipments to the manufacturers, opting to actually absorb penalties rather than proceed with tariff shipments. And this has resulted in a real disruption to regional production and the viability of exports.

So beyond direct exposure, the tariff measures have broader implications for the global economy as well. We see slowing demand, disrupted supply chains, and, of course, more importantly, the undermining of a rules-based trade order that's actually affecting current firm-level decisions, which would impact Singapore's long-term effectiveness.

I want to state that SBF has established the Centre for the Future of Trade and Investment. I will call that CFOTI from here. CFOTI has launched a national sentiment poll across our business community. Our objective is actually to capture the business reaction and support that businesses feel that they need, and we expect the preliminary findings to be out within the next two to three weeks.

Besides SBF, we are also working with our TAC partners. We will continue to sensemake, communicate and support our business community. Actually, just earlier this morning, we held a closed-door forum organised by SBF, with insights from government, legal, logistics as well as financial experts, and we have almost more than 400 business leaders that took part on the implication of the US tariffs.

We are actually trying to help businesses to make sense, take action and actually plan ahead. Now we continue to understand the urgency that businesses feel, and in April and May, SBF will co-host targeted export control seminars with Singapore Customs to actually help businesses navigate the evolving US regulations. CFOTI advisors will continue to provide guidance on FTA utilisation, tariff navigation and strategic trade compliance.

I want to say that businesses will now have to adapt to this new trade realities, and we encourage firms to continue to innovate, to strengthen their value offerings and tap into Singapore's FTA network to diversify their markets, their suppliers and to develop supply chain resilience.

So with that, I’ll pass the time now to my colleague.

Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng:

The second workstream for the Taskforce is to prepare and support workers as well as our businesses for the uncertainties that lie ahead. As DPM mentioned, I will be leading this effort with Brother Chee Meng from NTUC, and Brother Hee Teck from SNEF to assess the issues faced by businesses and workers and at the same time review support measures. Tripartite partnership is key. We are working closely together to anticipate challenges, bolster the resilience of workers and businesses, and chart the path forward together.

For businesses, we are paying close attention to the sectors which are going to be most immediately affected by the ongoing developments, while at the same time anticipating what are some other spillover effects on the rest of the economy.

For workers, we anticipate that the business uncertainty could cause employers to hold back their expansion or investment plans and consequently reduce hiring. This could affect our fresh graduates in particular who may face greater difficulty in securing their first job. Mature workers are also vulnerable should companies decide to downsize their operations amidst the uncertainty. We are paying special attention to the needs of these groups of workers.

Today, we have a wide range of tools in our arsenal to support businesses and workers, including several schemes that we have recently announced at Budget and COS 2025. These include programmes to support enterprise and workforce development, as well as upskilling, reskilling and employment facilitation for workers.

For businesses, we have recently made enhancements to the Enterprise Financing Scheme (EFS) or trade loans. This provides enterprises with better access to trade financing amidst uncertainties in the global trade ecosystem. We have also extended the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit, to support employers to reskill their workforce. Should there be a downturn, we urge businesses to take full advantage of such schemes to retain and to retrain their workers in preparation for recovery, instead of letting them go.

For workers, the Government has put in place the SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme to help mid-career workers pursue substantive reskilling and upskilling with training allowance support. These can help our workers pivot in this period of uncertainty. It is also timely that we have just launched our SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme yesterday. This will provide financial assurance to involuntarily unemployed jobseekers while they look for their next job. There are many avenues of support for those who need help in navigating these support measures.

Businesses can approach SMEs Centres for advice on programmes they can tap on to cope with the challenges. Our workers can approach career coaches at WSG Career Connect or NTUC’s e2i career centres. Besides midcareer workers and the involuntarily unemployed, we are also looking at how we can support the upcoming cohort of young graduates to start their careers on a good footing. As the situation evolves, we will work closely with tripartite partners to assess the needs and challenges on the ground, while monitoring key indicators such as unemployment rate, retrenchments and employment growth. We have the flexibility to expand and to enhance our schemes quickly in response. Should there be a turn for the worse, we are prepared to provide even more substantial reliefs to workers and businesses.

For workers, to support entry and re-entry to the workforce, and safeguard their livelihoods and wages if job losses become more severe. For businesses, to alleviate immediate pressures and help them to adapt to the new normal. Rest assured, for all of our workers, our businesses, we can get through this together, we will emerge stronger, as we have done so many times before.

Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress Ng Chee Meng:

Good afternoon to all. Three parts to my brief as well. First of all, NTUC’s sensing from our Union and our leaders; second, NTUC’s support to our workers; and third, NTUC’s potential collaborations with the companies and then I will conclude.

We did a very quick dipstick poll with our union leaders and we have gotten feedback from all of them that are impacted directly by the US tariffs in the Electronics, Chemicals, Logistics and Transport sectors. Union leaders are understandably anxious – 70% of them are worried about the uncertainty in global trade, around 60% think that the tariffs will impact Singapore and their sector badly, 30% worry about reduced exports to the US and 50% worry about higher production costs. While 70% have yet to hear from their companies about how they might respond, 11% have heard about possible retrenchments already. Others have heard about firms starting to freeze hiring, freeze wages or reduce overtime hours due to reduced workload. NTUC’s support for workers therefore is to engage workers and study what further enhancements or new measures may be necessary to support workers.

For the youths coming into the workforce, the immediate need is job availability or job creation. For the larger workforce, including Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs), the immediate concern is job security. For all workers, the ‘No Regrets’ move is for all including PMEs, to remain in tune with training and skills upgrading to strengthen the overall resilience of the workforce. NTUC stands ready to assist our workers, including PMEs, should there be job transitions and retrenchment, if it becomes inevitable.

In addition to financial support under the new SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme mentioned by Minister Tan earlier, NTUC members can continue to tap onto NTUC’s training and upskilling initiative, the Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP), to be able to access with some subsidies to get into career coaching and relevant training to be able to tide the workers over and land onto the next job. Of course, we call on all workers, including PMEs that may not be with our unions, to join our unions so that all can better understand where they can seek the support from NTUC to be able to help them in this journey, and for NTUC and the unions to be alongside them.

The second part – NTUC’s collaboration with businesses. We have worked well with SNEF and companies and we therefore hope to deepen this relationship so that companies in such an environment can take a more flexible approach in measures other than retrenchment to preserve talent and strengthen future capabilities.

For companies, we will continue to encourage management to support their employees in reskilling and upskilling efforts. We urge employers to build up their workforce capabilities not just for the future, but start now, so that we can be more competitive, businesses can do better and workers can be more assured in such circumstances. Companies can access NTUC’s Company Training Committee (CTC) Grant and can work with NTUC to incorporate a training plan into a company’s transformation roadmap or long-term plans.

We also urge management to support their workers in joining unions, so that we can work with the management to assist them in any circumstances. Finally, we know that our Tripartism works and can help us not only overcome the current circumstances but can seize new opportunities. We can ride out the bumpy road ahead. 

We have overcome crises in the past as what Minister Tan has said and we will definitely, as tripartite partners work together to overcome the current situation as well. Therefore, we hope that companies can share information with NTUC so that we can also communicate with our workers to allay the anxieties and perhaps more importantly, to co-strategise so that we can partner to maintain the business case for Singapore and the wages and livelihood of our workers.

President of the Singapore National Employers Federation Tan Hee Teck:

Thank you Sec-Gen. The situation is fast changing and uncertain. For many employers especially SMEs, it may be challenging to fully appreciate the extent and degree of impact of the tariffs. The short answer is the cost of doing business will change, but how and when, it’s unclear. The tariffs will ultimately affect all businesses, due to shifts in supply and demand. Whether these businesses are in the export orientated sectors or not.

As employers approach the tariffs situation with caution, they are seeing a more measured outlook as employers navigate the current economic uncertainties. Some companies are prudently reviewing their hiring plans and may delay the filling of non-essential roles such as certain administrative and back-office positions, while some SMEs have implemented hiring freezes. For employers that continue to hire, they may offer contact positions instead of permanent roles and possibly shorter contracts to provide better workforce flexibility. At the same time, employers are also exploring increasing workload efficiency through measures like AI which may help with longer term productivity growth. Such strategic workforce planning underscores a proactive approach to navigating potential challenges.

As part of the Taskforce, SNEF will engage employers and help them assess the impact on their business and the resulting workforce challenges. We will be organising a series of engagements for both SNEF members and the broader business community to help them better understand the new trade environment and just as importantly, potential opportunities. We will continue to engage employers through our ongoing industry meetings and organise dedicated sessions for discussing the impact of the tariffs. More than ever, employers and workers need to stay nimble and adaptable and be ready to respond to challenges.

SNEF encourages employers to preserve their human capital and press on with business and workforce transformation efforts so that they can be more agile and prepared for the future come what may. SNEF will continue to enhance our advisory services to employers so that they can get support needed, such as wage support from the career conversion programme, and jobs transformation support from the Productivity Solutions Grant for job redesign.

Finally, we will reach out to our members and the broader business community to encourage continued hiring and training of workers even in this cautious climate. It is critical to continue investing in our workforce to build deep and relevant skills so that we are better positioned to weather the challenges ahead.

DPM Gan:

Thank you. Even as we address the short-term immediate challenges faced by our enterprises and our workers, it is also important for us to think a little bit more medium and longer term – the direction forward and how can we help companies transform and the economy upgrade, and the workers invest in skills and upgrading. I think these are the things we will need to plan for the medium and longer term, and that is why we have the third workstream to think of these issues in a more holistic way. I will hand over to Minister Desmond Lee.

Minister for National Development and Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration Desmond Lee:

Thank you, Chairman. Friends of the media, you would have heard my fellow panel members speaking about how we will support businesses, support our workers amidst ongoing challenges and the immediate uncertainty arising from what has happened over the last few weeks and months. But we know that the global environment in which Singapore has thrived these past few decades is changing. For example, the rules-based trading order is under serious threat – instead of win-win cooperation and deeper integration, we may see more countries taking a me-first, as well as a win-lose mindset. Global institutions are weakening, and international norms are shifting.

It is still quite uncertain what the exact contours of the new economic landscape will be, but we do want to proactively sensemake, do scenario planning and prepare proactively for the mid-to-long term environment, so that Singapore will not just survive but be able to thrive. We must therefore look further ahead, even as we focus on the immediate challenge, and plan how we can support and prepare our businesses and our workers to do well in a very different world and in a very different economic order. Now, in this period of uncertainty, we will face challenges, but we can also unlock opportunities to transform our economy, and to reposition ourselves globally, so that Singapore remains relevant and competitive.

So DPM has asked Minister Chee Hong Tat and me to work on this third workstream, which is to recommend medium to longer term strategies in order to strengthen Singapore's economic resilience for the benefit of our businesses, workers and society.

What we will do is we will work with our economic agencies to explore new and innovative ways, for instance, to work with our businesses to enter, and to grow in new markets and also to diversify their supply chains.

Second, we will look at how to strengthen and build resilience in our status as a global hub in air, sea, trade and finance, which connects us to the world and ensures that we remain a key node in the flow of goods, people and ideas. Now these flows may shift, reorientate, and we want to be ready to seize these opportunities.

Third, we want to ensure our continued attractiveness to both our local and international investors, founders and talent, and to leading MNCs from around the world, because this benefits Singapore and Singaporeans.

Fourth, we want to see how we can re-energise our enterprises and workforce to transform, so that we can overcome land and labour constraints and operate with productivity and innovation. This would mean more competitive enterprises, better jobs and better wages for Singaporeans.

And fifth, we are looking at new partnerships with like-minded countries and like-minded organisations to preserve economic stability and efficient global markets. We have made good groundwork for strong partnerships over the years with models such as Alliances for Action (AfA), to pioneer new concepts and ideas, and we continue to strengthen these partnerships and work closely with our tripartite partners, private sector, think-tanks, academic and research communities and more in order for us to gather better insight and ideas to forge a refreshed economic vision and strategy for Singapore in the years ahead.

So at the end of the day, our goal is first, to create good jobs and good wages, and help Singaporeans access these jobs in a very different global environment. To grow competitive and innovative enterprises that are rooted in Singapore but who can excel overseas. And to foster an enabling environment where good businesses and Singaporeans are proud to call home. So in a way, economic resilience is not only about withstanding adversity, but also transforming through it and then thriving. And so together, we will work to seize new opportunities on the horizon. Thank you.

Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance Chee Hong Tat:

I just want to make two points. To add on to what my colleagues have shared, and together with Minister Desmond Lee, I think we want to look at whether there are new opportunities for Singapore in this new environment, tapping on our strengths, for example, our reputation as a trusted hub. And my belief is that if we can remain united, internally, in this more turbulent environment and we can continue to project a sense of stability for investors, for businesses to make long-term plans, knowing that Singapore is a place that they can count on. I think trust will have a greater premium in this more volatile environment.

There are three things that I think we will want to focus on, in this new environment, to seize new opportunities.

First, is that we must open up. Singapore has always been a place where we connect with the world, we thrive, our trade, our investments, ideas, capital. I think the need for that remains very important. And this also includes having a very good environment for countries from around the world who want to come to Singapore to invest and use this as a hub for the region, including companies from the US, from Europe, from different parts of Asia, using Singapore as a hub, as a launchpad for their operations in Asia.

The second up would be speed up, and I think that is important for us to look at how we can continue to press on with our workforce and enterprise transformation efforts. There is a temptation when things are going tough to say let’s put that off, let’s delay that, but I think it is important in this environment to make sure that our workforce and our companies can up our productivity and our competitiveness. So the government will continue to support our companies and our workers on these efforts. We will also continue with our efforts to review our rules through the committee chaired by DPM Gan, because that is also another way in which we improve our competitiveness and make our business environment more pro-enterprise.

And the third up would be team up. Team up, because we need to work as a team internally within Singapore, with our tripartite partners, but also team up with other like-minded countries from different regions in the world. So I think we want to pay attention to this too. When some doors are closed or when there are barriers, it doesn't mean that all doors are closed. We will look out for new openings, new opportunities, and seek out new ways for our companies and our workers to do business and to earn a living.

The second thing I want to say is, we will make sure that we provide the necessary help and support to our companies, to our workers, to our families during this difficult period. And it is fortunate that the government, because of the budget, fiscal surpluses that we have, we have the resources to be able to do this.

You may remember during the Budget debate that some people questioned, why did we have fiscal surplus? And Mr Neil Parekh, who is a Nominated Member of Parliament, stood up and asked why are we debating about this, because having a surplus is actually a good thing for the country. If you need the resources, the government will have the resources to do more for Singapore and Singaporeans.

So now we are in a more difficult environment. We need the resources, I think it is fortunate that we have planned our fiscal resources well, and now we have a fiscal surplus to be able to do more to help Singapore and Singaporeans. So we will make sure that we set aside the resources to provide some immediate help for our companies, for our workers, for our families, and we will do this for as long as it is necessary, because we want to make sure that we give this confidence and assurance to our workers, to our people, that we have your back, that this is a government you can count on, and rain or shine, we will walk this journey together with you. Thank you.

Closing Remarks by DPM Gan:

First, let me just say that we are facing a significant challenge to our overall global economic framework, particularly the threat to the rules-based trading order. As I explained earlier, if countries are able to raise tariffs and reduce tariffs to each other, without respect for, regard for the MFN – “Most Favoured Nation” basis – that you have to be fair to all countries, I think this will threaten the underlying rules-based order that we have been relying on to grow our economy. So I think this is something that we are particularly concerned about, because once you do not have rules for trading, it is difficult for small countries and small economies like Singapore to continue to grow, develop and prosper, because trade, after all, is three times our GDP.

In the longer term, we also see that it's a major challenge. We see tariffs are going up. Some may ask, will tariffs be removed after this Administration, and when the new Administration comes in, maybe they can remove the tariff, and everything else will be over. It's not so simple because some of the tariffs are imposed in order to allow industries to onshore into America, and you can imagine if I made a significant investment in the US because of tariff protection, you cannot remove the tariff overnight because that will affect my investment, affect my calculation, so it is something that you always have to bear in mind that tariffs are easy to put up but very difficult to remove.

So I think this challenge is going to be with us for the long term, and therefore it is important for us while we tackle the short term impact of the tariffs, we need to have a long term view on how our economy needs to transform and reposition ourselves. At the same time, we should also bear in mind that even in these choppy waters, in this turmoil, there will be opportunities.

As our supply chains get reconfigured, there will be pockets of opportunities that we will be able to tap on. The key is really we need to help our companies to be nimble, to continue to invest in upgrading, in innovation, developing new markets, develop new products and services, at the same time, continue to invest in our people so that they can have the skills that are necessary to deal with the new markets and new products. We need to continue to also tap on the strength of our tripartism, work together with the industries, with businesses, work with the unions and the workers.

The Government will come together, and with this tripartism, we can then strengthen our economy's resilience and we'll be able to overcome these challenges and continue to grow our economy and to provide good jobs for Singaporeans. Thank you very much.