Excellencies,

Fellow Parliamentarians,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. A very good morning to everyone. On behalf of my fellow MPs, I wish our Parliamentary colleagues from across the Asia-Pacific a warm welcome to Singapore. It is my pleasure to address the thirteenth Parliamentarian Workshop on International Trade co-hosted by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The annual Parliamentarian workshop has been a valuable platform for us to focus on global trade challenges and exchange views on how our countries can navigate these challenges.

2. The global economic slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic has made free and open trade even more critical to the well-being of our people. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the pandemic pushed over 80 million people in Asia1 into extreme poverty in 2020 as livelihoods were affected by trade disruptions. Even as the pandemic continues, we face new headwinds in the areas of inflation, food security and climate change. Against this backdrop, there is unfortunately a growing trend of countries resorting to unilateralism and decoupling to protect their national interests. In the face of these threats, it is critical to ask ourselves: What can we do to strengthen and preserve the WTO, which is the embodiment of the rules-based multilateral trading system and has dramatically improved the lives of our people? Allow me to share three thoughts with you.

3. First, we should take a broader view of the trade-offs between protecting our national interests and supporting the multilateral trading system. Fuelled by geopolitical tensions, we are increasingly seeing countries pursue supply chain self-reliance and resilience through “friend-shoring” and “on-shoring”, or simply implementing unilateral measures. This has triggered a race to the bottom as countries engage in tit-for-tat action. Unfortunately, there is a significant economic cost to this. The IMF has estimated that the long-term global losses of a fragmented world are close to 2 percent of world GDP, which amounts to more than US$2 trillion. As policymakers, it is beholden on us to weigh these trade-offs carefully, and urge our governments to play by WTO rules to restore the stability and predictability in the multilateral trading system. We must be prepared to look beyond our national interests and champion the longer-term positive impacts of multilateral cooperation.

4. Second, we need to demonstrate to our stakeholders that the WTO remains relevant and fit-for-purpose in the 21st century. WTO Members should continue to work together to address contemporary challenges such as climate change and digitalisation. Climate change is an existential issue that will pose significant challenges to many of our countries. WTO Members have recognised the role that trade can play and have come together to embark on environment initiatives such as the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution, and the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions. These initiatives have attracted the engagement of almost 90 WTO Members, who represent more than 85% of global trade, and have generated useful discussions on trade-related environmental measures and how Members can harmonise these measures in order to promote certainty and predictability.

5. Similarly, the impact of the digitalisation of trade, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, is another trend that will bring about fundamental changes in the structure of our economies. For example, UNCTAD’s latest estimates recorded that global e-commerce sales amounted to US$26.7 trillion in 2019, up from US$16 trillion in 2013. Global exports of digitally delivered services also grew by 30% in 2021 compared to 2019. In this context, Australia, Japan and Singapore have come together as co-convenors of the Joint Statement Initiative on E-Commerce, which aims to negotiate global rules governing E-Commerce and incorporate them into the WTO’s multilateral framework. We currently have 88 WTO Members, from both developed and developing Members, accounting for over 90% of global trade participate in this JSI. At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos this January, Members of the JSI on E-Commerce reaffirmed their commitment to substantially conclude negotiations in this area of work by end-2023. This political commitment underscores the importance of digital trade in the global economy. In this vein, it is equally critical that the WTO extends the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions so that all Members will be able to reap the benefits of digital trade.

6. Third, Members must seize the opportunity to establish ground rules that will uphold global trade at the upcoming 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in the UAE in February 2024. As Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said during his visit to China in March 2023, the world faces a basic paradigm change and we need to be cognisant of the costs of decoupling. While all of us would like a secure and resilient supply chain, we will also need to be aware of its negative impacts in other areas such as innovation, technology and our creative industries. Our Ministers and Officials should closely engage in WTO reform discussions, including on the Dispute Settlement System (DSS), in the lead up to MC13 to ensure that the WTO will be able to adapt to new global realities.

7. Distinguished guests, as legislators, we all play a significant role in supporting the rules-based multilateral trading system as embodied by the WTO. We must continue to speak up for the WTO, particularly at a time where Members have questioned its effectiveness.

8. Today’s workshop will update Parliamentarians on these pressing trade issues and explore how we can jointly address them. I hope the lessons gleaned from this workshop will serve your economies well and enable all of us, as Parliamentarians, to better represent our populations and communicate the workings and benefits of the multilateral trading system and free trade.

9. I would like to thank the Temasek Foundation, the WTO, and RSIS for organising this workshop. I wish all of you fruitful sessions and exchanges ahead.

10. Thank you.