Star Metro - Lower shipments to US, China weigh on Singapore August exports

Relations between the world's two biggest economies have been wracked by trade tensions that saw them impose tit-for-tat tariffs on each other, wreaking havoc on global supply chains.

As Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy, Singapore depends heavily on trade, making it particularly exposed to global slowdowns -- even though it only faces a 10 percent baseline tariff from US President Donald Trump's measures.

Singapore's non-oil domestic exports shrank by 11.3 percent August 2025, faster than the revised 4.7 percent fall in July 2025, the government's Enterprise Singapore body said.

Exports to the United States tumbled nearly 29 percent in August, extending a 42.8 percent decline in July, with sharp falls in both electronic and non-electronic shipments.

Exports of food preparations such as sauces to the US fell by 97.1 percent, while specialised machinery shipments plunged by 71.3 percent and disk media products tanked by 60 percent.

Exports to China shrank by 21.5 percent, steeper than the 12.3 percent decrease in July, with shipments of specialised machinery falling by nearly 42 percent and integrated circuits shrinking by 36.8 percent.

Exports to China of non-monetary gold, or gold used for industrial purposes, plunged by 96.1 percent.

The decline in Singapore's August exports "reflected a range of factors, notably the disruption to world trade and export supply chains caused by steep new US tariff measures," Rajiv Biswas, chief executive of risk analytics firm Asia Pacific Economics, told AFP.

China's softer economic growth and weaker retail sales in the third quarter of this year were reflected in the country importing less from Singapore, Biswas added.

Singapore last month raised its 2025 economic growth forecast to 1.5 - 2.5 percent, from zero - 2.0 percent, but warned the outlook for the rest of the year remains clouded by global uncertainty, in part due to US tariffs.

A.Hill--SMC