The deal reached in recent weeks by U.S. President Donald Trump`s government comes after Singapore last week signed a free trade agreement with the UK, the first such deal between Britain and an Asean member state. In response to the Laboratory Advisory Committee report, the USTR stated that the temporary entry of professionals was within the objectives of the Trade Promotion Authority Act with respect to opening up foreign markets to U.S. services and investments, including removing or removing barriers that limit the operation of service providers or the creation or operation of investments. The USTR said it was essential to ensure cross-border mobility of professionals and other businessmen to U.S. companies in opening new markets and business opportunities abroad. The USTR also argued that it was wrong to say that the work certificates required under the free trade agreement would be less stringent than what the ACA required of U.S. law. According to the USTR, the work certificate required under the free trade agreement will also be modelled according to the LCA required by the Ministry of Labour under the existing H-1B visa program, and (as under the H-1B program), royalties may be collected at the same time as work certificates. (52) Singapore has implemented a free trade agreement with New Zealand (effective 1 January 2001) and with the European Free Trade Area (as of 1 January 2003, including Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein) and concluded a free trade agreement with Japan in January 2002, which excludes agricultural products. The country also concluded free trade negotiations with Australia (signed on February 17, 2003) and negotiated with Mexico (beginning in July 2000) and Canada (early October 2001) and established a task force on November 14, 2002 to review a free trade agreement with South Korea.
Regarding the impact of trade with Singapore on the U.S. economy, a group of analysts quantified the impact of the free trade agreement on the United States as positive at 0.19% of GDP, or about $18 billion. (46) Over the past three years, the United States has recorded trade surpluses with Singapore. The net macroeconomic effect on U.S. employment in this trade is therefore generally positive, although bilateral trade balances have little impact on the overall level of U.S. employment. However, at the micro level, the electronics industries and other machinery and equipment industries could face increased import competition under the free trade agreement. In addition, professionals with an H-1B1 visa (also known as H-1B1-Singapore) can stay for up to 18 months, with the possibility of unlimited extension.
This visa was created specifically for Singaporeans and there is an annual priority rate of 5,400 visas, but this quota has not yet been reached. Unused quotas are transferred to the general pool for use by citizens of other countries. [3] S. 1417/H.R. 2739 contains numerical limits of 5,400 new entries per exercise under the Singapore FTA professional work visa. The bills do not limit the number of times a foreigner is allowed to renew the FTA professional visa each year, unlike H-1B workers, who are limited to a total of six years. The invoices would account for an ETS worker against the H-1B cap in the first year he enters and after the fifth year of extension. Although the foreign national holding an FTA work visa remains a temporary resident who can only work for any employer who has met the work certificate requirements, the foreign national holding an FTA professional visa could remain legally in the United States for an indeterminate period.