Singapore: the trade agreement between the EU and the world’s busiest transshipment sea port has entered into force
Ranked by the World Bank as Asia’s top logistics hub for 10 years in a row, Singapore offers world-class connectivity to the region and beyond. The Port of Singapore currently holds the title as the world’s top transhipment port – an intermediate stop for cargo on its way to another destination – and the second-busiest port globally, after Shanghai.
After China, the highest LSCI (the liner shipping connectivity index) scores were recorded in Singapore and Busan (Republic of Korea). (unctad.org)
In the first ten months of 2019 containerized traffic in the Asian hub amounted to 30.7 million teu (+ 0.9%) (informare.it)
International shipping to Singapore
As freight forwarders regularly shipping to Singapore from Italy (and viceversa) we are able to provide you the best logistic support for every kind of goods’ category. Our freight forwarding services are focused on:
- Sea freight international shipping to/from Singapore (full container and groupage)
- Air freight international shipping to/from Singapore
- Multimodal customized solutions to save time and money
- Cross trade international shipping (have a look at our case history example cross trade shipment from China to Singapore)
- Air freight shipping from/Singapore
- Shipping and logistics for exhibitions in Singapore (have a look at this case history shipping and shopfitting for International Furniture Fair Singapore _ IFFS)
- Logistics services
- Import/Export customs clearance
- Insurance
- Trusted freight forwarding partners in Singapore
Trade agreement between EU and Singapore
Singapore is by far the EU’s largest trading partner in the Southeast Asian region, with a total bilateral trade in goods of over €53 billion and another €51 billion of trade in services.
The European Union and Singapore have negotiated a Free Trade Agreement and an Investment Protection Agreement.
EU Member States endorsed the trade agreement on 8 November 2019. It entered into force on 21 November 2019. The investment protection agreement will enter into force after it has been ratified by all EU Member States according to their own national procedures.
With the entry into force of the agreement, Singapore will remove all remaining tariffs on certain EU products (like alcoholic beverages) and keep the current duty-free access for all other EU products unchanged, while the EU will open its market to over 80% of all imports from Singapore EU duty-free and remove all other tariffs within a few years.
Moreover, technical and non-tariff barriers to trade in goods will be removed in sectors such as: electronics, motor vehicles and vehicle parts, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, renewable energy, and raw and processed products of animal and plant origin.
Other key features of the agreement that will help facilitate trade will be:
- enhanced customs cooperation
- the recognition of rules of origin and the protection of intellectual property rights
- the opening up of services and investment markets in the fields of telecommunications, environmental services, engineering, computing and maritime transport
- binding commitments on trade and sustainable development, including robust requirements concerning environmental protection and social development
Are you looking for a freight forwarder in Italy? We are at your disposal for any international shipping needs!
