UK – Singapore Free Trade Agreement Comes into Force

A new trade agreement between Singapore and the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom – Singapore Free Trade Agreement (UKSFTA), has officially come into force as of 1 Jan 2021, replacing the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) with regards to trade between both countries. Signed in early December 2020, this new agreement comes in the wake of the UK officially leaving the European Union in January 2020 and helps to provide certainty and clarity in trading agreements between both countries.
Under the terms of this new trade deal, companies will enjoy the same benefits as the EUSFTA, including the elimination of tariffs for goods trade, increased access to each other’s respective services and government procurement markets, as well as reduction of non-tariff barriers, especially in the electronics, motor vehicles and vehicle parts, pharmaceutical products and medical devices and renewable energy generation sectors. Additionally, despite the UKSFTA only coming into effect in January 2021, it will also retain the same timeline for tariff reductions as the EUSFTA, resulting in the elimination of nearly all tariffs by November 2024, and will also see the removal of unnecessary technical barriers to trade.
(Source: Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore)