Number: RL31789
Title: The U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
Authors: Dick K. Nanto, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division 
Abstract: On September 4, 2003, President Bush signed the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (P.L. 108-78) into law in a White House ceremony. The agreement will go into effect on January 1, 2004. In late July, the United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act had passed the House by a vote of 272-155 and the Senate by a vote of 66-32. The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will, with a phase-in period, eliminate tariffs on all goods traded between them, cover trade in services, and protect intellectual property rights. In July 2003, the House Ways and Means Committee, Senate Finance Committee, and House and Senate Judiciary Committees held mock markups on the draft implementing legislation. On July 15, the United States-Singapore FTA Implementation Act (H.R. 2739 (Delay) and S. 1417 (Grassley) was introduced and by July 17 had received committee approval.
Pages: 45
Date: June 15, 2004