RD/TPR/667
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UNOFFICIAL ROOM DOCUMENT[1]
Trade Policy Review of SINGAPORE (26 and 28 juLY 2016)Concluding Remarks by the Chairperson
Organe d'examen des politiques commerciales
DOCUMENT DE SÉANCE NON OFFICIEL1
examen des politiques commerciales de SINGAPOUR (26 et 28juiLLET 2016)Remarques finales de la Présidente
Órgano de Examen de las Políticas Comerciales
DOCUMENTO DE SALA NO OFICIAL1
examen de las políticas Comerciales de SINGAPUR (26 y 28 de juLio de 2016)Observaciones dela Presidente a modo de conclusión
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TRADE POLICY REVIEW OF singapore
26 and 28 july 2016
Concluding Remarks by the Chairperson,
Ms Irene Young
(Permanent Representative of Hong Kong, China)
1.This seventh Trade Policy Review has provided an excellent opportunity for Members to better understand Singapore's economic and trade policies and their recent developments. Our dialogue has been thorough and comprehensive, owing to the openness of the Singapore delegation, led by Mr. Loh Khum Yean, Permanent Secretary from the Ministry of Trade and Industry; and the constructive comments of the discussant, AmbassadorFernando de Mateo from Mexico, and of the 40 Members that have taken the floor.
2.Many Members congratulated Singapore for its strong economic fundamentals and successful development model. Members also praised Singapore's openness to trade and investment, and for creating an exemplary environment for doing business. The Singaporean economy has continued to perform well since the last TPR in 2012, although the pace of growth has been more moderate than in the past. Singapore has been facing new challenges, particularly with regards to productivity and an ageing population. Members welcomed Singapore's ongoing efforts in restructuring the economy, as it is shifting from labour-intensive activities towards innovation-led growth and higher productivity.
3.With respect to specific trade measures, Members encouraged Singapore to liberalize its remaining restrictions on investment and trade in services, including legal services. Several Members sought clarification and more transparency regarding the array of fiscal privileges and other incentives that Singapore has put in place. Questions were also raised regarding existing policies, such as import licensing, the rice stockpile scheme, and the vehicle quota regime. A recurring issue of interest was the role played in the economy by the state, government-linked companies, statutory boards and their companies.
4.Another area of general interest was Singapore's tariff regime. It was noted that Singapore levied tariffs on only six tariff lines (namely beer and some other spirits), but around 30% of Singapore's tariff lines were unbound, and the bound rates ranged from zero to 10%. Members continued to enquire about the prospect of increasing the binding coverage and reducing the gap between bound and applied rates, in order to enhance predictability.
5.With respect to new trade policy initiatives, Members were particularly interested in regulatory changes in the area of intellectual property, where Singapore had introduced a positive patent grant system, amended copyright legislation, and passed new legislation on the protection of geographical indications. Several Members expressed concern, or sought clarification, regarding: first, certain SPS and TBT measures (for example, recognition of regionalization measures and Singapore's plain packaging policy on tobacco products); and second, difficulties of foreign companies in participating in the government procurement market due to prior local experience requirements.
6.There was considerable interest in Singapore’s involvement in regional trade agreements, and the institutional framework governing its domestic economic and trade policies, notably the work of the dedicated Non-Tariff Measures Unit within the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and the newly-established Committee on the Future Economy, which has been tasked to identify growth opportunities and strategies for the country.
7.Members commended Singapore for its active role in the WTO and support for the multilateral trading system, as demonstrated by its compliance with the transparency and notification requirements, prompt ratification of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, participation in the expansion of the Information Technology Agreement and the negotiations on an Environmental Goods Agreement, provision of technical assistance to other Members, as well as its contributions to the discussions after the Tenth Ministerial Conference. Singapore's effort in promoting a broadbased fossil fuel subsidy reform was also acknowledged.
8.During the discussion, Singapore explained its policy strategies in the context of the country's developmental needs, strengths and constraints, and addressed issues identified by Members. It emphasized the importance of trade to Singapore's economy, and affirmed the country's commitment to maintaining an open and competitive economy, and to a course of economic restructuring which could boost productivity and innovation-led growth.
9.By now, Singapore has already responded to all advance written questions posed by Members, as well as all the additional questions that came after.Ihope that Singapore will find Members' perspectives and suggestions useful in reviewing and further refining its economic and trade policies.
10.I invite colleagues to join me in congratulating Singapore on the successful conclusion of this TPR.
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* In Original language only/En langue originale seulement/En el idioma original solamente.
[1] Documents issued in the RD series are not official WTO documents. They usually appear in their language of submission and will not be translated systematically into the working languages of the WTO. They are intended for use in WTO meeting rooms and are attributed an unofficial symbol for archiving purposes only.
Les documents de la série RD ne sont pas des documents officiels de l'OMC. Ils ne paraissent généralement que dans la langue dans laquelle ils ont été communiqués et ne seront pas systématiquement traduits dans les langues de travail de l'OMC. Ils sont destinés aux salles de réunion de l'OMC et une cote non officielle leur est attribuée à des fins d'archivage.
Los documentos de la serie RD no son documentos oficiales de la OMC. Por lo general se distribuyen en el idioma en que han sido presentados y no se traducen sistemáticamente a los idiomas de trabajo de la Organización. Se distribuyen para su uso en las salas de reunión de la OMC y se les asigna una signatura no oficial a efectos de archivo únicamente.