Asia Must Resist Tariff Retaliation, Says Singapore Central Bank Official
SINGAPORE () – Asian economies should stay flexible and avoid engaging in reciprocal tariff disputes, according to a deputy managing director at the Monetary Authority of Singapore who spoke on Friday.
Edward Robinson, who serves as the MAS’s chief economist, informed a monetary policy conference that retaliatory tariffs could cause adverse supply disruptions, exacerbating the balance between economic growth and inflation and complicating monetary strategies.
He advised they should stick with previous recommendations to refrain from undermining themselves like tossing stones into their own fields of grain; instead, they ought to enhance regional trade ties, particularly in sectors such as digital commerce and service industries, along with boosting investments.
He stated that protectionism and import duties disturb the efficient distribution of resources and decrease consumer surplus since domestic households encounter increased costs and reduced options.
The economies that face tariffs and those that impose them both experience negative impacts.
Even though Singapore has a free-trade agreement with the United States and runs a trade surplus with them, Washington has imposed a 10% base tariff on Singaporean goods.
Several other Southeast Asian nations face significantly elevated duties, though these have been pushed back to July; currently, a provisional 10% tariff applies.
On Thursday, Singapore reported a 0.6% decline in the first quarter, prior to the announcement of U.S. tariffs, which places the economy at risk for entering a technical recession.
The MAS loosened policies during the January and April review sessions this year. Following the release of the GDP figures on Thursday, Robinson stated that the present monetary policy position was still suitable.
(Reported by Xinghui Kok; Edited by John Mair)