Singapore contests US claim of trade surplus amid excess capacity probe

Singapore said it ran a trade deficit with the US in 2024, disputing figures published by Washington that showed the city state posted a surplus and challenging suggestions that it is contributing to global manufacturing overcapacity.The dispute surfaced after the Office of the US Trade Representative announced this week that it had launched investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 into the acts, policies and practices of 16 economies, including Singapore. The investigations are focused on structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors.In a Federal Register notice, the USTR highlighted Singapore as having a bilateral trade surplus with the US in both goods and services amounting to US$27 billion in 2024.Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement on Thursday that is not borne out by the US’ own data. Citing figures from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, the ministry said Singapore had a US$1.7 billion goods trade deficit and a US$25.1 billion services trade deficit with the US in 2024 – leaving it with a total trade deficit of about US$27 billion.The US notice also suggested Singapore has continued expanding manufacturing capacity despite falling industrial occupancy rates. The ministry rejected that characterisation, saying industrial space occupancy rates are “very healthy at around 90 per cent and have been consistently so”.It added that land is scarce and the amount set aside for industrial use has declined over time because of competing needs.