Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Singapore

KEY POINTS

The EU–Singapore FTA establishes the conditions for EU economic operators to take full advantage of the opportunities created in Singapore by securing:

• the comprehensive liberalisation of services and investment markets, including:
  • cross-cutting rules on licensing and the mutual recognition of diplomas, and
  • sector-specific rules designed to ensure a level playing field for EU businesses;
• new tendering opportunities for EU bidders, especially in the utilities market where there are many leading EU suppliers;
• the removal of technical and regulatory trade barriers to trade in goods, such as duplicative testing, in particular by promoting the use of technical and regulatory standards familiar in the EU in the sectors of:
  • motor vehicles,
  • electronics,
  • pharmaceuticals and medical devices,
  • green technologies;
• a more trade-friendly regime, based on international standards, for the approval of EU meat exports to Singapore;
• Singapore’s commitment not to raise its tariffs (which are currently, on a voluntary basis, usually not applied) on imports from the EU, along with cheaper access for EU businesses and consumers to products made in Singapore;
• a high level of protection for intellectual property rights, including the enforcement of these rights and border controls;
• a higher level of protection than under the Agreement on Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights for EU geographical indications (GIs) following their registration in Singapore, through the domestic GI registry established on 1 April 2019, following the consent of the European Parliament to the FTA – since the entry into force of the FTA, the EU–Singapore Trade Committee has adopted three decisions on GIs (Decisions No 1/2020 of 17 April 2020, 2/2020 of 27 April 2020 and 3/2022 of 19 April 2022);
• a comprehensive chapter on trade and sustainable development – which aims at ensuring that trade supports environmental protection and social development, and promotes the sustainable management of forests and fisheries – and on how social partners and civil society will be involved in its implementation and monitoring;
• swift dispute resolution mechanisms through either panel arbitration or with the help of a mediator; and
• a comprehensive new chapter to promote new opportunities in the ‘green growth sector’, that meet the aims set out in the EU’s Green Deal plan of action.

There is a protocol to the agreement that concerns the definition of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation. It was amended in late 2022 to reflect:

• changes made to the World Customs Organization’s International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (see summary);
• the replacement of the system of self-certification of origin of goods by approved EU exporters with a system of self-certification of origin of goods by registered exporters (known as the REX system); and
• the expanding of the scope of three origin quotas applicable for products originating in Singapore and imported to the EU: canned luncheon meat, curry fish balls and cuttlefish balls.