Singapore's task force to tackle the impact of Trump tariffs through communication, immediate support for companies, long-term strategies (2025)

[SINGAPORE] The task force set up in response to the US tariffs will work on three areas: “sense-making” and communication, immediate support measures and longer-term strategies.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong on Wednesday (Apr 16) shared details of the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce at a press conference following its first meeting.

DPM Gan chairs the task force, which comprises four other ministers and three tripartite representatives – one each from the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF).

With US President Donald Trump having kicked off a series of tit-for-tat, escalatory tariffs with China, some companies in Singapore have already been affected, noted DPM Gan.

“Those who have manufacturing operations in China, or sell to manufacturers in China for onward sales to the US, are already seeing cancelled orders or deferred orders.”

While the US has deferred higher “reciprocal tariffs” on some other countries, these might yet be imposed and may spark retaliation, he warned.

The task force was thus set up to help companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, to “navigate these troubled waters”.

Three workstreams

One area of the task force’s work is in “sense-making” and communication, for a collective assessment of tariff-related developments and their impact.

The government will engage businesses as well as trade associations and chambers to understand their challenges, update them on developments and explain how government measures can support them.

This effort will be co-led by Minister for Digital Development and Information and Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo, and SBF chairman Lim Ming Yan.

As the operating environment can shift overnight – with tariffs introduced one day and suspended another – companies will constantly need to re-orientate themselves, said Teo.

The task force’s “sense-making” efforts will help companies counter such confusion, she said.

A second area is in providing immediate support. The task force will identify businesses’ and workers’ challenges and review whether current support measures – including those in Budget 2025 – are adequate.

If needed, existing measures will be enhanced, and new ones developed. The work in this area will be led by Manpower Minister and Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng, NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng and SNEF president Tan Hee Teck.

A dipstick poll of union leaders found them “understandably anxious”, said Ng. For example, 70 per cent “are worried about the uncertainty in global trade”.

Dr Tan noted that the task force is “paying close attention” to businesses in sectors most immediately affected, while anticipating spillover effects on the rest of the economy.

Asked to identify the most-impacted sectors, he pointed to manufacturing, finance and insurance, wholesale trade, transport and logistics, semiconductors as well as biomedical and pharmaceuticals.

As for workers, he anticipates that employers may “hold back their expansion or investment plans”, and consequently reduce hiring.

This could affect fresh graduates, who may find it harder to secure their first jobs, and mature workers, who may fall victim to downsizing, he said. He added: “We are paying special attention to the needs of these groups of workers.”

The minister also emphasised the “wide range” of existing support measures, including the new Jobseeker Support Scheme, announced this week.

Asked how far the government would go to cushion the impact, Teo replied: “You don’t go into this effort presuming to know what will be necessary... You need to have the fiscal resources to enable you to respond accordingly.”

DPM Gan said additional schemes, if introduced, will address “specific needs of that time”, and reiterated that the task force will first raise awareness of existing schemes.

“Later on, when we (have) made sense of the impact, and we are clear on what the needs on the ground are, we can involve new schemes, if necessary,” he said.

The task force’s third focus is longer-term strategy, led by Minister for National Development Desmond Lee and Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance Chee Hong Tat.

In this area, the group will develop strategies for businesses and workers to transform and to reposition themselves in the new economic landscape.

This includes helping businesses enter and grow in new markets, as well as diversify supply chains; strengthening Singapore’s status as a global hub in air, sea, trade and finance; ensuring that it remains attractive to local and international investors, founders and talent; and accelerating productivity and innovation, said Lee.

DPM Gan said that in parallel, the government will continue working with like-minded nations and economic blocs to strengthen partnerships.

Asean member states’ tariff negotiations with the US will be bilateral, due to member states’ differing trade patterns, he noted. But they agreed to continue to deepen Asean integration and uphold trade agreement commitments, as well as to explore collaborations with other partners, as a bloc.

Singapore will also continue engaging the US to understand and address its concerns, he added. “Notwithstanding its recent actions, the US remains a key economic, technological and strategic partner for Singapore.”

Views gathered by the task force will also help to inform the government’s external engagements, he said.

The task force was announced in Parliament on Apr 8 by Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong, after Trump imposed a baseline 10 per cent tariff on all US imports and higher rates on certain trading partners.