28/09/2025

theSun on Sunday SEPT 28, 2025

WORLD 7

Tariffs threaten US$3.1b of S’pore pharma exports SINGAPORE: Pharmaceutical companies in Singapore are seeking clarification on whether they would qualify for an exemption from steep tariffs imposed by the United States on their goods, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said yesterday. unless they build a manufacturing presence in the US. This is a concern for Singapore as pharmaceuticals form around 13% of all Singapore exports to the US, said Gan.

BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Friday that his government will propose a referendum on whether to revoke two agreements on the demarcation of its border with Cambodia as part of a plan to address a simmering dispute. Thailand and Cambodia have bickered for decades over undemarcated points along their 817km land border. Tensions exploded into a five-day conflict in July that killed at least 48 people and displaced thousands. For years, the two countries have relied on an agreement signed in 2000 that provides a framework on joint survey and demarcation of the land boundary. Another agreement, signed in 2001, provides a framework for cooperation and potential resource-sharing in maritime areas. Both agreements have come under public scrutiny in Thailand. “To avoid further conflict, the House of Representatives has already set up a committee to study the matter, while the government policy will be to propose holding a referendum on the issue,” Anutin said. A referendum would provide a clear mandate on the matter, he added. The two agreements were relatively successful in the past but have now become problematic for relations between the two countries, said Panitan Wattanayagorn, a political scientist at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University. “Their revocation may not be a direct solution to the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, because it could create a vacuum,” Panitan said. “The government must make clear what will replace them and this has to be agreed by Cambodia as well.” – Reuters Thai referendum on border issue proposed US help for Thai, Laos anti-crime units PHNOM PENH: Law enforcement officials from the United States, Thailand and Laos are collaborating to share intelligence in tackling rising transnational crimes along Southeast Asia’s borders, particularly in areas surrounding the Golden Triangle. The tripartite initiative comes months after the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) warned in May that the Golden Triangle has become a prime location for drug labs and traffickers. “The exchange is part of a series of activities held by US security and law enforcement representatives, Thai and Laos Immigration authorities to stop transnational crime,” said a statement posted on the US Embassy and Consulate in Thailand’s website on Friday. A border security meeting was held in Nong Khai, Thailand on Tuesday and Wednesday. “Enhanced cross-border cooperation among Asean member states to combat transnational organised crime will be a top agenda item at next month’s Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur,” said the statement. In its May report, UNODC revealed it seized a record 236 tonnes of methamphetamine in East and Southeast Asia last year, a 24% jump from 2023. Its report also said drug syndicates were exploiting maritime trafficking routes linking Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines – indicating the evolving nature of transnational drug trafficking. The Golden Triangle, bordering Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, was once the epicentre of opium production and distribution during the 1970s. – Bernama

“We hope to be able to have an arrangement with the US to allow us to continue to be competitive in the US market, to allow our pharmaceutical companies to be able to continue to export to the US market. As to whether the tariff rate will be 15% or any other tariff is something that is part and parcel of the negotiation, but we do look forward to having some preferential treatment versus the top-line tariff the US has imposed.” Singapore’s exports to the US are subject to a 10% baseline tariff despite a free trade agreement in place with the island nation since last year. – Reuters

He added that many of the pharmaceutical firms in Singapore have plans to expand or build their business footprint in the US, which may qualify them for a tariff exemption. Gan said trade talks with the US are ongoing, with officials on both sides working on details of possible deals for the pharmaceutical and semiconductor sectors.

Singapore exports about US$3.10 billion (RM13 billion) of pharmaceutical products to the US and most of the exports are branded drugs, said Gan, who is also trade minister. US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday 100% duties on imports of branded drugs that would apply to firms

Philippine storm death toll rises to 11

Cyclone tearing across South China Sea MANILA: The death toll from Severe Tropical Storm Bualoi rose to 11 in the Philippines yesterday as the cyclone bore down on Vietnam. Bualoi battered small islands in the centre of the Philippines on Friday, toppling trees and power pylons, ripping roofs off homes, unleashing floods and forcing 400,000 people to evacuate. Among the worst hit was the tiny island of Biliran, where eight people died and two are missing, said provincial disaster official Noel Lungay. “There was widespread flooding and some roads remained under water. “Evacuees are starting to return to their homes as the weather improves.” The Office of Civil Defence in Manila earlier reported three other deaths on the nearby islands of Masbate and Ticao, including two people crushed by a tree and a wall that were brought down by strong winds. Fourteen people remain missing across the central Philippines, it said without providing details, while more than 200,000 remained inside evacuation centres across the storm’s path. Bualoi came on the heels of Super Typhoon Ragasa, which killed 14 people across the northern Philippines. Bualoi was tearing across the South China Sea on Saturday at typhoon strength of 120km an hour, the Philippines’ state weather service said. It was forecast to be off the coast of central Vietnam by yesterday afternoon. The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year, routinely striking disaster-prone areas where millions of people live in poverty. The storms come as the Philippine public seethes over a scandal involving bogus flood-control projects believed to have cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Thousands took to the streets last Sunday to vent their anger, with the peaceful protests later overshadowed by street battles that saw police vehicles set ablaze and windows of a precinct headquarters shattered. – AFP

Philippine soldiers helping to evacuate residents in Guiuan, Eastern Samar on Thursday. – PHILIPPINE ARMY/AFPPIC