Lawrence Wong: 'The likelihood of a fully blown trade war is growing', Implications of Liberation Day tariffs - 2025

4 April 2025, Singapore

My fellow Singaporeans, I’ve said before that the world is changing – in ways that will disadvantage small open economies like Singapore.

Some had previously questioned this assessment.

But the recent “Liberation Day” announcement by the US leaves no room for doubt.

It marks a seismic change in the global order. The era of rules-based globalisation and free trade is over. We are entering a new phase – one that is more arbitrary, protectionist, and dangerous.

For decades, the US was the bedrock for the free market economies of the world.

It championed free trade, and led efforts to build a multilateral trading system, anchored by clear rules and norms, where countries could achieve win-win benefits through trade.

This WTO system brought unprecedented stability and prosperity to the world, and to the US itself.

To be clear, the system is not perfect. Singapore, and many others, have long called for reform – to update the rules and to make the system better. But what the US is doing now is not reform. It is abandoning the entire system it had created.

Its new approach of reciprocal tariffs, country by country, is a complete rejection of the WTO framework.

The US has placed Singapore in the lowest base tier – with a tariff of 10%. So the direct impact on us may be limited – for now. But there are wider and more profound consequences. If other countries adopt the same approach as the US – abandoning the WTO, and trading only on their own preferred terms, country by country – it will spell trouble for all nations, especially small ones like Singapore.

We risk being squeezed out, marginalised and left behind.

We can also expect a strong global response to America’s tariffs.

Singapore has decided not to impose retaliatory tariffs. But other countries may not exercise the same restraint.

The likelihood of a full-blown global trade war is growing.

The impact of the higher tariffs, plus the uncertainty of what countries may do next, will weigh heavily on the global economy. International trade and investments will suffer, and global growth will slow.

Singapore will take a bigger hit than others, because of our heavy reliance on trade.

The last time the world experienced something like this was in the 1930s. Trade wars escalated into armed conflict, and eventually the Second World War.

No one can say how the current situation will unfold in the coming months or years.

But we must be clear-eyed about the dangers that are building up in the world.

Global institutions are getting weaker; international norms are eroding. More and more countries will act based on narrow self-interest, and use force or pressure to get their way.

This is the harsh reality of our world today.

We will stay vigilant. We will build up our capabilities.

We will strengthen our network of partnerships with like-minded countries.

We are more ready than many other countries, with our reserves, our cohesion, and our resolve.

But we must brace ourselves for more shocks to come. The global calm and stability we once knew will not return anytime soon. We cannot expect that the rules which protected small states will still hold.

I am sharing this with you so that we can all be mentally prepared. So that we will not be caught off guard. Let us not be lulled into complacency. The risks are real. The stakes are high.

The road ahead will be harder. But if we stay resolute and united, Singapore will continue to hold its own in this troubled world.

Mark Carney: 'The old relationship we had with the United States is over', Response to Trump trade tariffs - 2025

28 March 2025, Ottawa, Canada

Today my cabinet colleagues and I met to discuss Canada's response to the latest developments in the trade crisis. Yesterday, in the latest salvo in his trade war, President Trump again imposed unjustified tariffs on our nation in violation of our existing trade agreements.

This time he targeted the auto industry and the more than 500,000 hardworking, dedicated Canadians that that industry supports across our country.

Now, the president of the United States is trying to fundamentally restructure his economy, it means our economy, and it means the global economy as well. And I understand and respect his goal to support American workers, but I disagree with him that this is how to help them. With time, it will become apparent that these actions will end up hurting American workers and American consumers.

I reject any attempts to weaken Canada, to wear us down, to break us so that America can own us. That will never happen. And our response to these latest tariffs is to fight, is to protect and to build. We will fight the US tariffs with retaliatory trade actions of our own that will have maximum impact in the United States and minimum impacts here in Canada. We will protect our workers and our industries during this difficult period,. But above all, we will build a new Canadian economy. We will build Canada strong.

Coming to terms with this sobering reality is the first step to taking necessary actions to defend our nation. But it's only the first step.

Last night the president of the United States reached out to schedule a call. I appreciate this opportunity to discuss how we can protect our workers and build our economies. I will make clear to the President that those interests are best served by cooperation and mutual respect, including of our sovereignty.

Let's be clear, we're all on the same page. We won't back down. We will respond forcefully. Nothing is off the table to defend our workers and our country.

Now, to my fellow Canadians, I don't want to set unreasonable expectations. The road ahead will be long. There is no silver bullet. There is no quick fix. And I know and I understand that many are feeling anxious and worried about the future. Fundamental change is always unsettling. But I have every confidence in our country because I understand what President Trump does not. That we love Canada with every fibre of our being because we are stronger when we are together and Canadians are uniting as never before.

Now, we are going to have to live the lessons of recent months. First, that we have to look out for ourselves. And second, that we have to look out for each other. The federal government will do everything in its power to protect Canadian workers and businesses. We will be here for you every step of the way. In the past week, my government committed to use every dollar collected from our retaliatory tariffs to protect our workers. Our biggest challenge as a country is becoming the most urgent. Over the coming weeks, months and years, we must fundamentally reimagine our economy.

We will need to ensure that Canada can succeed in a drastically different world. The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperations is over. What exactly the United States does next is unclear. But what is clear is that we as Canadians have agency, we have power. We are masters in our own home nous ? chez nous.

We can control our destiny. We can give ourselves much more than any foreign government, including the United States can ever take away. We can deal with this crisis best by building our strength right here at home. It will take hard work. It will take steady and focused determination from governments, from businesses, from labour, from Canadians. We will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States. We will need to pivot our trade relationships elsewhere, and we will need to do things previously thought impossible at speeds we haven't seen in generations.

But we can make ourselves more productive and therefore more competitive. We can break down internal trade barriers. We can build a stronger and more resilient economy, and that's what I'm squarely focused on as your prime Minister.