Singapore cautions that fraying trade rules threaten development and supply-chain stability

Vivian Balak Krishnan told the Assembly that multilateral trade has been a postwar success but warned that the trading system has frayed and stressed the consequences for development and supply-chain resilience.

"Under the GATT and subsequently the WTO, disputes even between unequal powers could be settled by adjudication rather than the exercise of unilateral coercion," Krishnan said, and noted that a recent WTO conference in Yaoundé failed to reach consensus on several issues, including a moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions.

He tied trade openness to development, saying lower trade costs have boosted global GDP and that for Singapore trade equals roughly three times national GDP. Krishnan argued that when rules erode, access to markets and technology essential for development will be at risk and called for pragmatic coalitions and agreements to sustain cooperation while leaving space for broader participation over time.

He cited regional arrangements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the CPTPP as examples of plurilateral approaches that help reduce trade frictions and strengthen supply chains.