Singapore Foreign Minister: The United States' tariff actions have turned global trade into a "bilateral arm-wrestling match."

Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said that after US President Donald Trump imposed additional tariffs on partners, global trade is at risk of evolving into a "bilateral arm-wrestling contest." This practice of imposing tariffs may lead to a strong urge for the other party to retaliate with punitive tariffs. "Instead of a global system based on rules that promotes trade, it has now become a system where every trade agreement becomes a bilateral arm-wrestling match," Balakrishnan said in a fireside chat on Wednesday at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. "This will ultimately result in an escalating spiral of tensions."