SMEs' Feedback for Bilateral and Multilateral Trade Agreements

Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) what processes are used to consult local SMEs and obtain their feedback prior to negotiating bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.

The Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Ms Sim Ann) (for the Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade)): Company feedback is integral to MTI's process of negotiating trade agreements. MTI works with IE Singapore and Trade Associations to engage businesses on their potential interest areas in our various trade negotiations.

These engagements involve organising roundtable sessions to gather feedback first hand from companies including local SMEs on their business interests and the issues they face. Where there are specific concerns or opportunities companies are keen on, MTI and our economic agencies have also undertaken one-to-one sessions to follow up on these issues. In addition, IE Singapore's FTA promotion and advisory team conducts market surveys that allow companies to provide detailed feedback on their business interests and specific areas of concern.

These efforts are complemented with FTA outreach efforts to help companies gain greater awareness and knowledge of how FTAs can be used to their benefit. Some 3,500 companies over the last five years including SMEs from diverse sectors have benefited from workshops and seminars aimed at equipping companies with a better understanding of Singapore's trade agreements.

Mr Leon Perera (Non-Constituency Member): I thank the Senior Minister of State for her reply. Just a supplementary question on the roundtables that the Senior Minister of State alluded to. Are these roundtables organised specifically around particular multi-lateral or bilateral agreements that are being negotiated or are they organised around a country theme like doing business in Korea so you have a roundtable of companies interested in doing business in Korea, for example, or are they organised on an industry theme? Or are they organised on all three?

Ms Sim Ann: These tend to be usually based on the specific FTA negotiations that are on-going so it would typically be based on a country or group of countries that we are negotiating with. Companies with interests in these markets are very welcomed to join in and the launch of FTA negotiations is also featured in the media. So, we hope companies who know about this will take part actively if they have issues to raise.

At the same time however, our various economic agencies including IE Singapore are also constantly in touch with companies. So, even on occasions or fora that are not dedicated to FTAs, they are also free to raise issues concerning Free Trade Agreements.