Singapore could take countermeasures under the free-trade agreement in force since 2004, but has chosen not to do so, trade minister Gan Kim Yong told a press conference on Thursday.

“Retaliatory import duties will just add cost to our imports,” he said, noting that the government would be reviewing its economic forecasts because of the worsening situation.

Gan said Singapore will try to engage the US to understand President Donald Trump’s areas of concern and see if they can be resolved.

“If there are no specific concerns, then it’s more difficult to argue or to negotiate,” he said.

Singapore was hit by Trump’s 10% base tariff on imports, albeit much lower than neighbours in Southeast Asia where six countries were hit with tariffs of between 32% and 49%. The US had a goods trade surplus of US$2.8 billion with Singapore last year, an 84.8% increase over 2023, according to the US trade representative website.

Gan, who is also Singapore’s deputy prime minister, said the city-state’s data showed the US trade surplus with Singapore amounted to a “substantial” US$30 billion in 2024. He did not elaborate.