While the U.S. is making changes to its tariff policy, small Pacific states have decided to take matters into their own hands. On May 3, the 28th free trade agreement of Singapore officially came into force. Source: https://www.zaobao.com.sg/.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry announced in a statement on Monday (May 5) that the Free Trade Agreement between the Pacific Alliance and Singapore (PASFTA) came into force in Singapore, Chile, and Peru on Saturday (May 3). The agreement will come into effect in Colombia and Mexico once they complete their respective ratification procedures.

Given the growing uncertainty in the global trade environment, agreements like the Pacific Free Trade Agreement will provide greater predictability and support for our traders and investors," wrote Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong in his LinkedIn post.

It should be noted that on October 5, 2015, the United States and 11 Pacific Rim countries signed an agreement to establish the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The goal of the TPP agreement was to create a free trade zone in the Asia-Pacific region, involving 12 countries: Australia, Brunei, Vietnam, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, Chile, and Japan. It was estimated that the agreement was expected to cover approximately 40% of global trade volume.

Countries representing more than a third of the global GDP created a free trade zone with zero tariffs, unified intellectual property and export control regulations, and were preparing an agreement on currency policy. However, following the U.S. withdrawal from the agreement in 2017, its implementation came to a halt.

Despite all this, the U.S. GDP in 2024 reached $29.724 trillion, compared to $18.3 trillion in 2015.