Gan, who is also the country's trade minister, said Lutnick also raised the issue of export controls on high-end chips for artificial intelligence, although he is satisfied with Singapore's system for managing them, the paper reported. The issue has drawn renewed scrutiny after authorities arrested multiple people in connection with server fraud.
Lutnick is prepared to work with the city-state to maintain access to the chips and explore export curbs to ensure chips reach authorised end-users, Gan was quoted as saying.
Gan said in a separate LinkedIn post that despite the negotiations, the US is not prepared to lower its 10% baseline tariff. Concerns over a global trade slowdown has already prompted a downgrade in official forecasts for economic growth.
