Press Release

Statement by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gutierrez Following Meeting with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong

WASHINGTON—U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez today issued the following statement following his meeting with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

“Today’s productive meeting with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee was a good opportunity to discuss both the U.S. - Singapore bilateral relationship and our economic engagement in the region; Singapore is an important strategic partner and friend.

“Since the U.S. - Singapore Free Trade Agreement entered into force on January 1, 2004 trade has increased 34 percent with exports totaling 24.7 billion in 2006. Singapore is our 9^th largest export market, giving U.S. businesses an increasing opportunity to sell goods within the Asian region.

“The strength of our relationship is reflected by this groundbreaking U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, our first FTA in Asia and the first FTA signed by President Bush. The U.S.-Singapore FTA has set a good precedent for our other FTA negotiations and we look forward to sharing many more strategic successes.

“Singapore is an important partner, especially as we enhance our trade and commercial ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. We strongly support ASEAN progress towards economic integration under the ASEAN-U.S. Enhanced Partnership.”

Background

The U.S. and Singapore entered into Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations in November of 2000 to increase access to Singapore's dynamic markets for American exporters, service providers and investors. The U.S.-Singapore FTA, the first such agreement with an Asian country, sought to provide state of the art protections for Internet commerce and intellectual property, and to help drive growth and innovation in our dynamic technology sectors. The Agreement was signed on May 6, 2003, and entered into force January 1, 2004. Resulting in immediate zero tariffs on all U.S. products, the U.S.-Singapore FTA, as well as the negotiations themselves, set important benchmarks upon which successive FTA negotiations have been based. The successful conclusion of the U.S.-Singapore FTA expanded market access opportunities for U.S. companies to over 4.2 million consumers and $116.7 billion in GDP in 2005. Immediately prior to the FTA, the United States exported $16.5 billion in goods to Singapore. In the three years since implementation, exports increased to $21.6 billion in 2006 – a 34 percent increase. Singapore’s exports to the U.S. increased to $16.4 billion in 2006 for total trade of $38 billion.

Founded in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) consists of 10 members – Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. ASEAN organizational objectives are to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to promote regional peace and stability. In October 2002, the President announced the Enterprise for ASEAN Initiative (EAI). The EAI provides a roadmap for closer trade relations with the United States, offering the prospect of bilateral free trade agreements to those ASEAN countries that are members of the World Trade Organization and that have concluded Trade and Investment Framework Agreements with the United States.

In November 2005, we collectively launched the ASEAN-United States Enhanced Partnership, a comprehensive, action-oriented, and forward-looking initiative, focused on spurring cooperation on political, security, economic, social and development matters.