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Countries and regions
Singapore
The EU-Singapore trade and investment protection agreements were signed on 19 October 2018.
The European Parliament gave its consent to the agreements on 13 February 2019. EU Member States endorsed the trade agreement on 8 November 2019. It entered into force on 21 November 2019. The investment protection agreement will enter into force after it has been ratified by all EU Member States according to their own national procedures.
Trade picture
- Singapore is the EU's 14th largest trade in goods partner and the EU's largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
- The EU has a sizeable positive balance of trade in goods and in services with Singapore.
- Singapore is a major destination for European investments in Asia, and the third largest Asian investor in the EU (after Japan and Hong Kong).
- In 2017 the bilateral foreign direct investment stock between the EU and Singapore was roughly €334 billion, having expanded rapidly in the preceding years.
EU-Singapore: Trade in goods
| Year | EU imports | EU exports | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 17.7 | 27.7 | 10.1 |
| 2018 | 19.4 | 31.2 | 11.9 |
| 2019 | 17.9 | 29.1 | 11.1 |
EU-Singapore: Trade in services
| Year | EU imports | EU exports | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 20.2 | 20.9 | 0.7 |
| 2017 | 20.5 | 25.6 | 5.1 |
| 2018 | 22.7 | 30.2 | 7.6 |
EU-Singapore: Foreign direct investment
| Year | Inward stocks | Outward stocks | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 110.3 | 191.3 | 81.0 |
Unless otherwise mentioned “EU” concerns for all indicated years the current European Union of 27 Member States.
Date of retrieval: 22/04/2020
EU and Singapore
Bilateral trade and investment negotiations with Singapore began in 2010 and completed in 2017. The agreements with Singapore are the first to have been concluded between the EU and a Southeast Asian country, and represent stepping-stones to a greater engagement between the EU and the region.
Singapore and ASEAN
Singapore is one of the 10 members of ASEAN. It is the EU's largest commercial partner in ASEAN, accounting for slightly under one-third of EU-ASEAN trade in goods and services, and roughly two-thirds of investments between the two regions. Over 10,000 EU companies are established in Singapore and use it as a hub to serve the whole South Pacific.
Taken as a whole, ASEAN is the EU's third largest trading partner outside Europe (after the US and China). Ensuring better access for EU exporters to the dynamic ASEAN market is a priority for the EU. Negotiations for a region-to-region trade and investment agreement between the EU and ASEAN were launched in 2007 and paused by mutual agreement in 2009 to give way to a bilateral format of negotiations. These bilateral trade and investment agreements were conceived as building blocks towards a future region-to-region agreement.
Committees and Dialogues
The EU and Singapore meet regularly to discuss issues and best practices when applying the agreement. The committees meet regularly.
Trade Sustainable Development Sub-Committee
1st meeting – 17/18 November 2020: Agenda | Joint Statement
Trading with Singapore
- Rules and requirements for trading with Singapore
- Importing into the EU from Singapore
- EU trade defence measures on imports from Singapore
- Exporting from the EU to Singapore
- Importing into the EU from Singapore
- The EU is has a delegation in Singapore
- Singapore is a member of the World Trade Organisation
- Sustainable impact assessment of the EU-ASEAN Countries Free Trade Agreement (FTA)