The EU-Singapore trade and investment protection agreements were signed on 19 October 2018.

The European Parliament gave its consent to the agreements on 13 February 2019 and the trade agreement entered into force on 21 November 2019. The investment protection agreement will enter into force after it has been ratified by all EU Member States. As of February 2022, 12 Member States had ratified it.

The EU and Singapore are negotiating a digital trade agreement. On 27 June 2023, the Council of the European Union authorised the Commission to open negotiations. Negotiations were launched on 20 July 2023.  

Trade picture

• Singapore was the EU's 22nd largest trade partner in goods, and the EU's second-largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in 2022.
• The EU has a sizeable positive balance for trade in goods with Singapore, as well as for trade in goods and services combined.
• Singapore is a major destination for European investments in Asia, and the second-largest Asian investor in the EU (after Japan).
• In 2022, the bilateral foreign direct investment stock between the EU and Singapore was roughly €434 billion, having expanded rapidly in the preceding years.

The EU and Singapore

Bilateral trade and investment negotiations with Singapore began in 2010 and completed in 2017. The agreements with Singapore are the first to have been concluded between the EU and a Southeast Asian country, and represent stepping-stones to a greater engagement between the EU and the region.

Singapore and ASEAN

Singapore is one of the 10 members of ASEAN. It is the EU's second largest commercial partner in ASEAN, accounting for slightly under one-third of EU-ASEAN trade in goods and services, and roughly two-thirds of investments between the two regions. Over 10,000 EU companies are established in Singapore and use it as a hub to serve the whole South Pacific.

More information on ASEAN

Committees and Dialogues

The EU and Singapore meet regularly to discuss issues and best practices and oversee the proper functioning of the Agreement.

Technical committee meetings - agendas and reports

Trading with Singapore

• Importing into the EU from Singapore
  • EU trade defence measures on imports from Singapore
• Exporting from the EU to Singapore
  • Trade defence measures in force in Singapore
• Trade relations are part of the EU's overall political and economic relations with Singapore
• Singapore is a member of the World Trade Organization
• Sustainable impact assessment of the EU-ASEAN Countries Free Trade Agreement (FTA)