The UK-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (UKSFTA) entered into force on 11 February 2021, after the UK and Singapore completed the applicable legal requirements and procedures for the agreement’s entry into force.
Under the free trade agreement, companies from Singapore and the UK will enjoy the same benefits that they received under the EU-Singapore FTA (EUSFTA). Those benefits include elimination of tariffs for goods trade, increased access to the respective services and government procurement markets, and reduction of non-tariff barriers.
The agreement was signed in December 2020 by Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing and UK Secretary of State for International Trade, Elizabeth Truss.
The UK-Singapore Free Trade Agreement will help Singapore and the UK to strengthen their roles as business hubs in their respective regions and serve as a pathfinder for the UK’s engagement of the Southeast Asian region, Enterprise Singapore, the government agency championing enterprise development, said in a statement.
Tariffs will continue to be reduced or eliminated according to the EUSFTA tariff schedule for Singapore’s goods exports to the UK. Upon the UKSFTA’s entry into force, tariffs will remain eliminated for 84 percent of all tariff lines for Singapore exports to the UK. Virtually all of the remaining tariffs will be eliminated by 21 November 2024, similar to the EUSFTA.
Asian food products made in Singapore continue to be able to enter the UK tariff-free, up to a combined annual quota of 350 tons. Under the flexible rules of origin applicable to such Asian food products, there is no need to ensure that the ingredients used were grown or produced in Singapore. All that is necessary is importers to show that the products were made in Singapore.
Non-tariff barriers are reduced across major sectors, including electronics, motor vehicles and vehicle parts, pharmaceutical products and medical devices, and renewable energy generation.