The EU is the world’s second largest market for medical and pharmaceutical products, and is both a major importer and exporter of such products, albeit with a trade surplus of over 100 billion Euros per year. The EU is also a leader in pharmaceutical sector research and development. The EU’s new Pharmaceutical Strategy (November 2020) seeks to build on this strong position to foster improved, patient-centric health care and further strengthened industry, including through trade and international cooperation.

Similarly, while Singapore is a much smaller market, it is a leading centre for biomedical sciences in Asia, with European industry having a significant manufacturing presence in Singapore. Between the EU and Singapore, medicaments, medicinal products and pharmaceutical products accounted for over 6 billion Euros of trade – some of the most traded products between both jurisdictions.

The sector is characterised by multi-layered regulation, spanning from intellectual property to safety to pricing and reimbursement. This poses challenges for trade and investment. While their systems are quite different, the EU, its Member States and Singapore share the ambition for modern, forward-looking regulation and administration of the public health sector, including pharmaceuticals and medical devices – as much as they share a host of common challenges and opportunities, from ageing populations to the digitalisation of healthcare.

The EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA), which entered into force on 21 November 2019, promotes the trade in pharmaceutical products and medical devices between the EU and Singapore. The EU and Singapore not only agreed on keeping tariffs on these products at zero, but also agreed to prevent and eliminate non-tariff barriers to bilateral trade, establish competitive market conditions, promote innovation and timely access to safe and effective pharmaceutical products and medical devices, foster the use of WHO, OECD and other international standards, and enhance cooperation between the respective health authorities.