SINGAPORE, July 24 — Singapore has emphasised to the United States (US) that there is no technical or economic basis for imposing tariffs on the republic, given Washington’s growing trade surplus with the country, Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said.

The message was conveyed during his meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the 59th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila yesterday.

Balakrishnan said the US has a growing trade surplus with Singapore, which should be the the basis for not imposing any tariffs on the republic.

“Nevertheless, you know as well as I do that the American administration, for its own domestic political reasons needs to raise tariff revenue.

“But we also need to make sure we do not become collateral damage in the overall scheme in which tariffs are going to be raised by the US with all its trading partners,” he told Singapore media yesterday.

Balakrishnan also described his meeting with Rubio as a good, candid and honest-to-goodness discussion.

“He understands us, he knows Singapore, and he is obviously someone who’s got wide experience in both diplomacy and economics,” he added. — Bernama