Singapore signs FTA with Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru bloc

PM Lee Hsien Loong speaking virtually at the Pacific Alliance Presidential Summit in Bahia Malaga, Colombia, on Jan 26, 2022. - Bloomberg

SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): A free trade agreement struck on Wednesday (Jan 26) between Singapore and a bloc of countries consisting of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru is set to give the Republic greater access to what is collectively the world's eighth largest economy, scrapping most tariffs on goods and allowing local companies to bid for government projects in the Americas.

The Pacific Alliance-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, or Pasfta, is Singapore's first direct FTA with the Pacific Alliance, a bloc with a combined gross domestic product of more than $2.6 trillion.