ADDRESSING TRUMP TARIFFS
Singapore is a major global refining hub and supplier of fuel. In the first four months of 2025, it exported more than 54,000 barrels of gasoil and 8,300 barrels of jet fuel daily to Indonesia.
Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said last Friday (May 9) that it could shift as much as 60 per cent of its total fuel imports from Singapore to the US in the early stages.
Jakarta is looking to ramp up fuel imports from the US, as part of a wider proposal to address US President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs.
Despite this, experts believe the impact on Singapore’s economy would be minimal.
“Even if Indonesia were to scale back their imports, Singapore is resourceful,” said John Driscoll, director of energy market intelligence provider JTD Energy Services.
“They’ve got an infrastructure, refineries, storage terminals, support services, and besides that, they are the major pricing point east of Suez,” he added, referring to areas located east of the Suez Canal.
“You’ve got all of the major technology companies setting up the offices out here – Facebook, Google, Amazon. Singapore is not as dependent on oil, and I think that’s been a deliberate strategy on their part. They want to diversify away from a reliance on oil.”
Read the full article here
