Singapore

Bilateral trade and investment relations between the EU and Singapore are governed by the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) and the EU-Singapore Investment Protection Agreement (EUSIPA). The EU and Singapore signed both agreements on 19 October 2018. After the European Parliament gave its consent to the two agreements on 13 February 2019, the EUSFTA entered into force on 21 November 2019. The EUSIPA will enter into force once it has been ratified by all EU Member States. 

On 7 May 2025, the EU and Singapore signed a digital trade agreement (EUSDTA). The EUSDTA allows the EU and Singapore to keep pace with the fast-evolving nature of the digital economy. It sets a high standard for digital trade rules between the EU and Singapore and raises the ambition of digital trade rules globally. It builds on the EU's approach for digital and data rules that puts people and their rights at the centre. 

Trade picture

• In 2024, Singapore was the EU’s 21^st largest trading partner worldwide for trade in goods and its second-largest trading partner in ASEAN (accounting for 1% of the EU’s total trade in goods), while the EU was Singapore’s fifth-largest trading partner, accounting for 7.9% of the country’s trade in goods. Total trade in goods amounted to €48 billion in 2024, with a surplus for the EU of €12.5 billion. EU imports were mainly chemicals, machinery and appliances, and optical and photographic instruments. The EU's main exports to Singapore consisted of machinery and appliances,  chemicals, and optical and photographic instruments. 
• Two-way trade in services amounted to €80.6 billion in 2023 (with a deficit for the EU of €6.2 billion). 
• Singapore is a major destination for European investments in Asia, and the largest Asian investor in the EU. In 2023, the stock of EU foreign direct investment (FDI) in Singapore amounted to €262.9 billion and the stock of Singapore’s FDI in the EU was €313.5 billion, continuing the expansionary trend observed in previous years. 

The EU and Singapore

Negotiations for a comprehensive bilateral trade and investment agreement with Singapore began in 2010 and were completed in 2017. The negotiations resulted in a Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) and an Investment Protection Agreement (EUSIPA). 

Key elements of the EUSFTA include the elimination of all remaining tariffs on products while opening new opportunities for service providers in sectors like telecommunications, environmental services, engineering, computing, and maritime transport. The EUSFTA includes ambitious provisions in the field of government procurement, intellectual property (including Geographical Indications), sanitary and phytosanitary measures, customs, rules of origin, renewable energies, and sustainable development. 

The EUSIPA ensures high levels of investment protection, while allowing the EU and Singapore to regulate public policy objectives like health, safety, and the environment. It creates a modern framework for private and public investments and introduces a balanced Investment Court System for resolving investment disputes. Both agreements were signed on 19 October 2019, making them the first of their kind to have been concluded between the EU and a Southeast Asian country.

In July 2023, the EU and Singapore decided to bring their long-standing and robust economic partnership into the digital domain by launching negotiations on a digital trade agreement (EUSDTA). The agreement aims to build consumer trust, ensure predictability and legal certainty for businesses, and remove and prevent the emergence of unjustified barriers to digital trade. It also ensures that the EU and Singapore preserve policy space to develop and implement the policies required to address new challenges in the digital economy. Negotiations on the EUSDTA were concluded on 25 July 2024 and the agreement was signed on 7 May 2025.

Together, the EU's three bilateral agreements with Singapore represent important milestones towards greater engagement between the EU and the Association of South East Asian Nations (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)