Singapore’s drug makers may be shielded from US pharmaceutical tariffs: Deputy PM Gan

New US levies on pharmaceuticals may not have an “immediate impact” on Singapore’s drug makers, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong has said, adding the city state may pursue a ceiling on tariff rates similar to deals that Washington has with other countries.

Gan, who is also minister for trade and industry, told reporters on Saturday that most pharmaceutical companies in Singapore had built capacity in the US or had plans to do so. That could allow them to be exempted from the coming US pharmaceutical tariffs, and the companies were also seeking clarity on whether they would qualify for an exclusion, he said.

Singapore was in discussions with the US administration over semiconductors as well, Gan said, while declining to elaborate on the talks because they were confidential.

“The model that the US has with Korea, Japan as well as the EU is a precedence that can be used as a reference,” Gan said in response to a question on tariff caps. “Whether or not it will be exactly the same, that’s something that’s part and parcel of the discussions and negotiations between the US and Singapore.”

Singapore had initially avoided the harshest tariffs, receiving a 10 per cent baseline duty, while some Southeast Asian nations faced levies as high as 40 per cent. Officials have warned, however, that global economic turmoil would have consequences for the hub’s trade-reliant economy, and pharmaceutical supply chains have featured prominently in trade talks with Washington.

The full impact of the threatened tariffs on pharmaceuticals is unclear, given the lack of details available from the White House and indications from Trump’s social media posts that companies planning US manufacturing may be exempt.