Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, who represented the People’s Action Party during a live roundtable discussion on April 27, is responding to a question on how the government would go about pressing Singapore’s case with US President Donald Trump, beyond telling him that Americans would suffer from the trade policies he is embarking on.
Chee took part in the television programme along with representatives from four other political parties - namely Workers' Party, Red Dot United, People's Alliance for Reform and Progress Singapore Party.
Chee took part in the television programme along with representatives from four other political parties - namely Workers' Party, Red Dot United, People's Alliance for Reform and Progress Singapore Party.
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00:00I think the first point I would convey to Mr. Trump is that between US and China we would
00:10not want to choose sides because the only side that we will choose is a side of Singapore
00:15and Singaporeans. We act in our national interest. We have strong ties with the US in defense
00:21and security and the US is also a large investor here in Singapore and in the region. China
00:26is one of our largest trading partners so both are important to us and for Singapore
00:29to survive we must continue to maintain our relevance and our credibility with both countries
00:35and in fact with the rest of the world. And because we have been consistent, we have been
00:39principled and reliable, they know that when Singapore takes a stand it is not because we
00:45are doing it at the behest of somebody else but because we have done our own calculation
00:49and we are acting in our long-term national interest. So that's the first point I will
00:54make to Mr. Trump. The second point is that we would like the US to remain engaged in Asia.
01:00As I mentioned the US is a major investor. There are many US companies including a semiconductor
01:05and many areas and if you want to help our SMEs actually having MNCs here whether from US
01:11or from other developed countries is actually helpful to SMEs because it provides opportunities
01:15for SMEs. We shouldn't see this as a zero-sum game. We can help both the SMEs and also the
01:21MNCs to grow and then we help our workers to have better jobs. So the second point I'll
01:26make Mr. Trump is that the US should remain engaged in Asia both for defence and security
01:31but also in the area of economic development and investments. MAGA should not stand for
01:36make America go away. We want America to remain engaged. And the third point I will say to
01:42me is this. That Singapore may be small but we are not without agency. We have options.
01:49And you know earlier we were discussing about how we seek out new options, new trading partners,
01:56new trade links. I think that is part of what we have to demonstrate because as we know Mr.
02:01Trump is a very tough negotiator. And if he knows that we have no other options he will
02:05squeeze us hard. So the best way to negotiate with a tough negotiator is to demonstrate that
02:10we have options. We have like-minded partners that we can work with and we can look at how
02:15we can continue to open up, forge new trade links. We can look at how we can speed up our
02:20enterprise and workforce transformation to help our companies become more productive,
02:24to help our workers become better skilled. And we can also look at how we can team up.
02:29Team up domestically between our tripartite partners but also team up internationally with
02:35the region and with other like-minded partners. I would also like to make a point about the
02:41importance of unity domestically. Because for us to be able to deal with other countries with
02:48confidence and from a position of strength, Mr. Trump must know that when we negotiate with him,
02:54we have the support and backing of Singaporeans. If he thinks that domestically we are not united,
03:00that will be a point of weakness for Singapore. So if we want to be able to navigate in this more
03:05complex uncertain world and to be able to deal with tough negotiators like Mr. Trump, we have to
03:11demonstrate to them that Singapore domestically, our people, we will support the policies, we will stay united.