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PRESS/TPRB/229 
16 June 2004 
 
(04-2590) 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW: SINGAPORE 
Economic prospects look health y although challenges remain 
Singapore’s immediate economic outlook is heal thy thanks to improvements in the external 
environment in recent months and to Singapore’s sound macroeconomic policies as well as its 
openness to international trade and investment. As a result, growth is expected to pick up in 2004 
according to a report on the trade policies and practices of Singapore released on June 16 by the WTO Secretariat. 
 
Singapore, nevertheless, faces several longer-term challenges, including a recent lack of growth in total factor productivity (TFP) and more intense competition from low-cost regional producers, 
resulting in structural changes and declining employment, especially in manufacturing.  
 Although linked to the importance of external demand, the decline in TFP (and associated decline 
in capital productivity) raises concerns regarding Singapore’s active industrial policy. The 
Government has taken steps to reduce business cost s and is gradually redefining its role in the 
economy, including by divesting some non-strategic public sector companies. It is also planning to 
introduce an economy-wide competition law and is continuing its liberalization of key services and 
utilities. The reforms should increase competition in the economy and thus efficiency, thereby strengthening the resilience of the Singapore economy in dealing with these challenges. 
 
The WTO report, along with a policy statement by the Government of Singapore, will be the basis 
for the fourth Trade Policy Review (TPR) of Singap ore by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO 
on 14 and 16 June 2004. 
 The following documents are available in MS Wo rd format on the WTO web-site. They can be 
downloaded at http://www.wto.org/english/ tratop_e/tpr_e/tp229.htm  
  Secretariat report 
> Contents and summary observations  
> Economic environment  > Trade and investment regimes  
> Trade policies and practices by measure  
> Trade policies by sector  > Appendix tables  PRESS/TPRB/229 
Page 2 of 2 
 
 
  Government report  
 Chairperson’s concluding remarks  
 Minutes of the meeting (available appr oximately six weeks after the meeting). 
Note 
Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements, in which member 
countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant 
developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. For each 
review, two documents are prepared: a policy stat ement by the government of the member under 
review, and a detailed report written independently by the WTO Secretariat. These two documents are then discussed by the WTO’s full membership in  the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). These 
documents and the proceedings of the TPRB’s meetings are published shortly afterwards.  
 Print copies of the TPR publications are available for sale from the WTO Secretariat, Centre William 
Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Genève 21 and through the on-line bookshop at 
https://secure.vtx.ch/shop/boutiques/wto_index_boutique.html  or follow this path :  
www.wto.org >resources > publications > trade policy reviews  
 
The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan Press , 4611-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391, United States 
Next reviews: 
Benin/Burkina Faso/Mali : 28 and 30 June 2004 
Belize/Suriname : 12 and 14 July 2004 
European Union : 21 and 23 July 2004 
 For a full list of previous trade policy reviews and the full programme of future reviews go to 
http://www.wto.org/english/trat op_e/tpr_e/tpr_ e.htm#reviews 
or follow this path : www.wto.org > trade topics > trade policy reviews  
 
 
END