Singapore among seven countries keeping supply chains open

This article is more than 12 months old

Mar 26, 2020 06:00 am

While the pandemic has wreaked havoc on supply chains worldwide, Singapore and six other countries are committed to ensure connectivity with the world.

In a joint ministerial statement yesterday, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Myanmar, New Zealand and Singapore promised to ensure trade lines remain open.

The statement said: "We recognise that it is in our mutual interest to ensure that trade lines remain open, including via air and sea freight, to facilitate the flow of goods including essential supplies.

"We affirm the importance of refraining from the imposition of export controls or tariffs and non-tariff barriers, and of removing any existing trade restrictive measures on essential goods, especially medical supplies, at this time."

It added that the countries were also committed to working with all other like-minded countries, to ensure trade is unimpeded and air and sea ports remain open.

A spokesman for Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry said the pandemic is a global crisis that needs a collective international response, and that the joint ministerial statement seeks to be a timely and reassuring signal internationally and domestically. - DAVID SUN