Singapore hits back at US claims of ‘shadow transhipment’

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has addressed allegations from the White House regarding Singapore's role in a reported shadow transhipment network. According to The Loadstar, a recent report identified the city-state as one of more than 40 nations that allegedly enable Chinese exporters to mask the origin of their goods to avoid trade measures. Wong responded by stating that while Singapore follows international trade laws, it is not feasible to monitor every shipment.

During his National Day rally, Wong highlighted that Singapore managed 44.66 million containers last year, with the vast majority being transhipments. He argued that the immense scale and intricacy of modern global logistics prevent officials from tracing the entire history of every product passing through the port. He noted that while routing goods to hide their origin is prohibited, it would be "unrealistic" to expect the port to verify every provenance.

The administration in Washington also recently introduced a 12.5% tariff on specific Singaporean products, citing concerns over forced labor in supply chains. The United States claims that Singapore is among many trading partners failing to effectively block imports produced under such conditions. Wong expressed that while Singapore opposes forced labor, the government prefers international cooperation over domestic tariffs to solve the issue.

Singapore has committed to investigating any specific evidence of trade wrongdoing within its borders but emphasized that there are practical limits to what one country can achieve alone. The Prime Minister confirmed that Singapore will continue to engage in discussions with the United States to explain its position on labor standards and its oversight of the world's largest transhipment hub.