The Start Of New Era Of UK Trade With Asia As The UK Strikes £17.6 Billion Singapore And Vietnam Trade Deals

Image Courtesy of PXHERE

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss was in Singapore today to sign a Free Trade Agreement with the thriving city-state.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss and Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Trade and Industry

• New continuity trade deals with Singapore and Vietnam will deepen relationships in the Indo-Pacific region and deliver vital certainty for UK business.

• Singapore deal paves the way for a cutting-edge relationship in digital as part of the government’s plan to make the UK a global hub for tech and services trade post-Brexit.

• Agreements bring the UK a step closer to joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a high-standards agreement of 11 Pacific nations.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss was in Singapore today (Thursday 10 December) to sign a Free Trade Agreement with the thriving city-state.

The Secretary of State will now travel to Vietnam, one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, to conclude another rollover trade agreement.

As the UK’s largest trading partner in South-East Asia, the Singapore continuity agreement will provide a gateway to Asia for UK businesses and lock in the benefits of our existing trading relationship, worth £17.6 billion last year.

It is the latest step in the UK’s strategy to create a network of trade agreements with dynamic economies far beyond Europe, making the UK a hub for services and digital trade.

The UK is already one of the world’s biggest exporters of services, with remotely delivered services exports worth £207 billion in 2019.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss and Singaporean counterpart, Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Trade and Industry, also announced their intention to launch negotiations for a ground-breaking Digital Economy Agreement (DEA). This would be the first DEA that Singapore has struck with a European country.

This agreement would enable the UK to become a hub for digital trade with strong connections to Asia, cutting red tape for UK businesses and setting global standards in key areas such as cyber-security and emerging technology.

This follows the launch of the UK’s first Digital Trade Network in Asia Pacific, to increase digital trade and investment opportunities and to forge new digital partnerships in the region, helping more British businesses export digitally.   

Singapore and the UK are both global leaders in the digital economy and 70% of UK services exports were delivered remotely to Singapore last year, worth £3.2 billion.    

The International Trade Secretary will now travel to Vietnam to conclude a separate trade agreement, which will also maintain an important trading relationship that has tripled between 2010 and 2019 in nominal terms to £5.7 billion. 99% of tariffs will be eliminated after seven years, including on machinery and pharmaceutical products, our top exports to Vietnam.

International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss, Said:

Both these agreements are vital for the UK’s future as an independent trading nation. Not only do they lock in billions of pounds worth of trade, they also pave the way for new digital partnerships and joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership. This will play to the UK’s strengths, as we become a hub for tech and digital trade with influence far beyond our shores, defining our role in the world for decades to come.  

This is an important part of our vision for a Global Britain that sits at the centre of a network of deals with dynamic nations across Asia Pacific and the Americas as a global hub for services and technology trade. 

International trade will help us to overcome the challenges of coronavirus and drive economic growth across our United Kingdom.