Singapore's Economy Could Suffer From The US-China Row

Some also flagged potential dampening effects on investments and business sentiment as early as the second quarter of 2018.

When the U.S. and China threatened to impose tariffs on each other’s goods worth billions of dollars, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong published an editorial in mid-April warning that a trade war between the two economic powerhouses would slow down the global economy and hurt most countries, including Singapore. “We are a small, open economy with trade flows more than three times our GDP. A trade war between the two largest economies in the world will have a big, negative impact on Singapore,” said Lee. Whilst a full-blown trade war is not likely in the cards amidst expectations of a U.S.-China deal being reached, analysts echoed the prime minister’s concern that the country is especially vulnerable to any escalated trade war. Some also flagged potential dampening effects on investments and business sentiment as early as the second quarter of 2018.