{ "id": "RL31789", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL31789", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 102660, "date": "2004-06-15", "retrieved": "2016-04-07T20:14:04.019487", "title": "The U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement", "summary": "On September 4, 2003, President Bush signed the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement ( P.L.\n108-78 ) into law in a White House ceremony. The agreement went into effect on January 1, 2004. \nIn late July 2003, the United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act had passed\nthe House by a vote of 272-155 and the Senate by a vote of 66-32. The Free Trade Agreement (FTA)\nwill, with a phase-in period, eliminate tariffs on all goods traded between them, cover trade in\nservices, and protect intellectual property rights. In July 2003, the House Ways and Means\nCommittee, Senate Finance Committee, and House and Senate Judiciary Committees held mock\nmarkups on the draft implementing legislation. On July 15, the United States-Singapore FTA\nImplementation Act ( H.R. 2739 (Delay) and S. 1417 (Grassley)) was\nintroduced and by July 17 had received committee approval.\n \n The agreement has received support from the business community and consumer organizations\nbut has been criticized by labor and some environmental interests. Some of the specific concerns\nraised deal with the restrictions on penalties for unresolvable disputes over labor and environmental\nissues, the Integrated Sourcing Initiative, potential capital controls, temporary visas, and access for\nU.S. exports of chewing gum. A basic policy issue with respect to the FTA is whether the United\nStates should pursue free trade and investment relations on a bilateral basis rather than maintaining\nexisting trade and investment practices on both sides or pursuing more liberalized trade relations\nthrough other means. Also at issue is the extent to which the FTA language should be used as a\nmodel for other agreements.\n Negotiations for the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement were launched under the Clinton\nAdministration in December 2000. The FTA would be the fifth such agreement the United States\nhas signed and the first with an Asian country. According to the U.S. Trade Representative, the FTA\nhas broken new ground in electronic commerce, competition policy, and government procurement. \nIt also includes what the U.S. Trade Representative reportedly considers to be major advances in\nintellectual property protection, environment, labor, transparency, customs cooperation, and\ntransshipments.\n The U.S.-Singapore FTA required congressional implementation under expedited Trade\nPromotion Authority legislative procedures. It continues the trend toward greater trade liberalization\nand globalization, contains a new approach to imposing penalties for unresolvable environmental\nand labor disputes; and may affect certain trade flows that would, in turn, affect U.S. businesses.\n Since Singapore is a relatively small economy, the economic effects of the U.S.-Singapore Free\nTrade Agreement, by themselves, are not likely to be great. The debate over implementation of the\nFTA is falling between business and free trade interests who would benefit from more liberalized\ntrade, particularly in services, and labor or anti-globalization interests who oppose more FTAs\nbecause of the overall impact of imports on jobs and the general effects of globalization on income\ndistribution, certain jobs, and the environment. Specific provisions of the agreement also have\ngenerated debate. 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