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 25 July 2024, the EU and Singapore concluded negotiations for a digital trade agreement (EUSDTA). Both parties are currently following their respective procedures towards the formal signature and conclusion of the EUSDTA.

Trade picture

• In 2022, Singapore was the EU's 11^th largest trading partner worldwide and the largest trading partner in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Total trade in goods and services accounted for €130 billion, with a sizeable positive balance of €6.3 billion.  
• With a total value of €77.6 billion, Singapore was the EU’s fifth-largest trading partner for trade in services in 2022. 
• In 2023, Singapore was the EU’s 20^th biggest trading partner for trade in goods, with a total value of €52.6 billion. 
• 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

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.

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)