Xifres de comerç exterior de Singapur

Foreign Trade in Figures

Singapore's trade represented 338% of its GDP in 2022 (World Bank, 2023). The country ranks the 15th importers and the 15th exporters of the world (WTO, 2023). Main exports include electronic integrated circuits and microassemblies, electrical machinery and equipment, mineral fuels followed by chemicals, optical and medical equipment, transportation, business services, travel and financial services. Imports, on the other hand, were led by integrated circuits, refined petroleum, electrical machinery/equipment, turbo-jets and turbo-propellers, business services, transportation, travel, royalties and license fees.The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is forecasting a increase of 4.3% in the volume of exports of goods and services of the country in 2023, after an increase of 6.5% in 2022, and an increase of 5.2%% of its imports, after an increase of 8.4% in 2022.

Main export destinations include China (16% of all exports in 2022), Hong Kong (14%), the United States (9.1%), Malaysia (9.7%) and Indonesia (6.6%), while most imports arrived from China (15%), Malaysia (15%), the United States (11%), Japan (6.1%) and Indonesia (4.3%). The greatest risk to Singapore trade was the U.S. exit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership in January 2017; however, a formal signing ceremony excluding the U.S. was held in March 2018. Trade and exports also fell between 2019 and 2021 due to global trade tension, weakening demand for electronics and the COVID pandemic (The Strait Times). On the 15th of November 2020 Singapore has signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with 14 other Indo-Pacific countries. This free trade agreement is the largest trade deal in history, covering 30 per cent of the global economy. It includes the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN : Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and ASEAN’s free trade agreement partners (Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and Republic of Korea). The RCEP covers goods, services, investment, economic and technical cooperation. It also creates new rules for electronic commerce, intellectual property, government procurement, competition, and small and medium sized enterprises.

According to WTO data, exports of goods amounted in 2021 to USD 457.35 billion and imports reached USD 406.22 billion. With regard to services, Singapore exported USD 229.55 billion USD worth of services and imported USD 223.35 billion. The strategy adopted by the country is to promote exports while minimizing barriers to imports. Singapore has signed the Asian Free Trade Area agreements (AFTA in the ASEAN context), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and several bilateral agreements. All customs duties between Singapore and the E.U. are expected to disappear once the European Union-Singapore Free Trade Agreement is ratified by both countries (The Straits Times).