Singapore and Free Trade Agreements : Economic Relations with Japan and the United States

As part of its trade policy, Singapore has recently embarked on what can broadly be termed "new regionalism". This is characterized by its new-found desire to enter into Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the economic powerhouses (Japan and the United States in particular) as well as with a number of other countries beyond the Southeast Asian region. What is behind this new trade policy and the seemingly sudden enthusiasm for such preferential trading arrangements? What, specifically, could Singapore be hoping to gain? Equally important, what are the potential risks and costs that the city-state’s policy-makers ought to consider in embarking on these Agreements? Beyond examining the motivation behind these trade moves, the authors also analyse the trade and investment linkages between Singapore and Japan and the United States in some detail.