Vivian Balakrishnan discusses impact of tariffs on S’pore in meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio

Rubio said the U.S' tariff and export control measures were not directed at Singapore.

Zhi Ning Wong

June 05, 2025, 04:24 PM

Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, D.C., on Jun. 4.

During the meeting, Vivian raised Singapore’s perspective on the impact of the U.S.’ tariff policy as a small and trade-dependent economy.

Vivian said in a statement after the meeting that he and Rubio had a “good, candid discussion on the impact of tariffs and export controls”.

“Secretary Rubio assured us that these measures were not directed at Singapore,” he said.

However, Vivian noted that there remains a need for Singapore to continue engaging the U.S. in the coming months.

“There is a lot of work in the next few months to ensure that there are no adverse secondary impacts on Singapore, so we will have to continue to engage the administration very, very closely in the months ahead.”

U.S. tariffs in Singapore

In a ministerial speech on Apr. 8, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong noted that the U.S.’ tariff policy opens the door to “selective country-by-country trade relationships, based on unilateral preferences”.

“Small countries have limited bargaining power in one-on-one bilateral negotiations so the major powers will dictate the terms and we risk being marginalised and sidelined.”

He also announced a national taskforce, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, to help businesses and workers adapt to the new economic landscape.

On May 16, Gan said that Singapore and the U.S. were going to discuss preferential or even zero tariffs on pharmaceutical exports.

“It will require some effort on the Singapore side to ensure that the supply chain (of the pharmaceutical exports) is secure, and these are the details that we are discussing,” he added.

An excellent meeting overall

Vivian's meeting with Rubio marks his first working visit to the U.S. since the inauguration of the second Trump administration.

According to a press statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the meeting featured a “substantive and wide-ranging discussion” on bilateral ties and global developments.

Apart from tariffs and export controls, Vivian and Rubio also affirmed the close and vital relationship between their two countries in both traditional areas of economy, defence and security, as well as emerging areas, such as critical technologies, energy, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.

The MFA added that the two discussed other possible areas for collaboration, such as the 2026 U.S. G20 Presidency and how Singapore can contribute to the U.S.’ priorities in meaningful and practical ways.

“It was an excellent meeting, a meeting of minds,” Vivian said.

In a post on X, Rubio said the U.S.-Singapore strategic partnership is "solid", adding that he and Vivian also discussed their shared commitment to a safe, secure, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

The U.S.-Singapore strategic partnership is solid. In my meeting with Singaporean Foreign Minister @VivianBala, we spoke about how we can deepen our economic relationship and support American companies. We also discussed our shared commitment to a safe, secure, and prosperous… pic.twitter.com/3WqO24GRzG

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) June 4, 2025

Vivian's meeting with Rubio is part of his working visit to London and Washington, D.C., from Jun. 3 to 7.

Vivian is scheduled to continue his visit the next day with meetings with senior administration officials, Members of Congress, and other senior personalities in the U.S., said the MFA.