On 1 January 2021, the UK-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (“UKSFTA“) took effect via provisional application, enabling the United Kingdom (“UK“) and Singapore to apply treaty commitments under the UKSFTA on a provisional basis until it is ratified by both countries and enters into force. The UKSFTA aims to ensure trade continuity between Singapore and UK following the Brexit Transition period which expired on 31 December 2020, which had meant that the existing EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (“EUSFTA“) stopped applying to UK-Singapore trade. The UKSFTA allows companies to continue enjoying the same benefits under the EUSFTA when trading between Singapore and UK. This was announced in the Ministry of Trade and Industry Singapore’s (“MTI“) press release dated 31 December 2020.
Based on the Joint Ministerial Statement by Singapore and UK, UK is amongst Singapore’s top three European trading partners and is its top investment destination in Europe. On the other hand, Singapore is UK’s largest trade and investment partner from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (“ASEAN“). The UKSFTA covers more than S$30.5 billion (approximately £17 billion) of bilateral trade in goods and services. Given the existing trade volume and synergies between the two countries, we encourage you to review the UKSFTA closely to continue to take advantage of benefits now provided under the UKSFTA that were provided under the EUSFTA, and new benefits that the UKSFTA offers.
This Update hence highlights the key benefits under the UKSFTA, which include, amongst others, elimination of tariff for goods trade, liberal and flexible rules of origin (“ROO“), EU & ASEAN cumulation, reduction of technical and non-tariff barriers, enhanced market access to the services sector, more opportunities in government procurement, and enhanced intellectual property rights.
For more information, click here to read the full Legal Update.
