Balakrishnan’s comments come as Trump said he would notify more than 150 countries of how much levies Washington would place on their exports, with 10% being the minimum. Singapore has yet to receive a letter from Trump, he added.
Global trade risks becoming a “bilateral arm-wrestling match” following President Donald Trump’s approach of slapping tariffs on its partners, according to Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
Such an imposition may trigger a strong temptation from the other side to impose reciprocal tariffs. “Instead of a rules-based global system that promotes trade, you now have a system where every trade agreement becomes a bilateral arm-wrestling match,” he said in a fireside chat during the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado on Wednesday. “You end up in an escalatory spiral.”
