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Singapore says it’s ‘disappointed’ by Trump’s tariffs: ‘These are not actions one does to a friend’

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U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Singapore are “not actions one does to a friend”, the city-state’s leader said Tuesday, adding the government will likely downgrade this year’s economic growth forecast.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong warned that the “likelihood of a full-blown global trade war is growing” and urged his trade-reliant nation to prepare for difficult times ahead.

“We are very disappointed by the U.S. move, especially considering the deep and long-standing friendship between our two countries,” he said in an address to parliament.

“These are not actions one does to a friend.”

Trump last week announced sweeping levies on friends and foes alike after accusing the world of “ripping off” the United States for years.

Singapore was hit with a 10% tariff, despite a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.

The rate is much less than those imposed on other countries.

But Wong said the trade-dependent nation will be particularly hurt by a slump in the world economy and the unravelling of the global trading system based on free trade.

“Singapore may or may not go into recession this year, but I have no doubt that our growth will be significantly impacted,” he said.

The trade ministry is reassessing its economic growth forecast this year of 1.0-3.0%”and will likely revise it downwards,” he added.

Wong said that under the U.S.-Singapore FTA, the city-state imposes zero tariffs on American goods. Singapore also runs a trade deficit with Washington.

“If the tariffs were truly reciprocal and if they were meant to target only those with trade surpluses, then the tariff for Singapore should be zero,” he said.

Singapore hosts thousands of U.S. companies and many of them have made the city their Asia-Pacific headquarters.

While the island-nation is not a U.S. defense treaty ally, it enjoys robust military ties with Washington.

“This marks a profound turning point,” he said.

“We are entering a new phase in global affairs, one that is more arbitrary, protectionist and dangerous.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



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Parents hit back at RFK Jr.’s claim that ‘autism destroys families’

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The Education Department has a rude awakening for 5.3 million student loan borrowers: giving their info to debt collectors

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FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.



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Trump’s memecoin enjoys surprise 10% surge after sales lock up is lifted

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President Donald Trump’s personally endorsed memecoin surged over the weekend, despite expectations that its price would tumble as tens of thousands of fresh tokens were released to project insiders.

$Trump, a memecoin launched by Trump in the lead up to his second inauguration, has gained 10% since Friday, when 40 million additional tokens were to be released into circulation. The event, known as a token unlock, was expected to depress the memecoin’s price by increasing its supply but it seems to have had the opposite effect. 

Token unlocks are when a group of people—usually project team members, early investors or advisors—receive their allocated tokens for free or at a lower price after a predetermined amount of time and are allowed to sell them. Token unlocks are a way for project founders to guarantee to investors that they won’t do a rug pull—a common scam in which a memecoin project’s team members dump their holdings at once, tanking the token’s price and leaving investors holding the bag.

The tokens that were released last week were allocated to “creators and CIC digital,” according to the token’s website. While the identity of the token’s creators is unclear, CIC Digital is a company known to be affiliated with Trump. As the $330 million worth of tokens were unlocked, investors feared that these holders would immediately try to turn a profit by dumping the tokens into the market. 

Despite these concerns, the team has not made any significant sales yet, according to crypto analysis firm Chainalysis. “As of 1 p.m. ET on Monday, Chainalysis hasn’t detected any on-chain actions from the creators of $Trump coins,” the firm told Fortune

The token team’s perceived commitment to the project has led to increased confidence in the token’s longevity, leading investors to rush back over the weekend, Dylan Bane, an analyst at research firm Messari, told Fortune. “Because the price hasn’t gone down and a large-scale sale has not occurred, the markets might be pricing in the possibility that the Trump team just chooses to hold on to these tokens,” he said. 

However, this does not mean that the team behind the token won’t ever sell, Bane added. While there were 200 million tokens released for the launch in January, there are staggered unlocks scheduled every few months until 2028, when the total supply of tokens will reach 1 billion. 

“There’s a lot more to be unlocked,” Bane said. “So, if the price goes down, that’s not in the team’s interest since most of their tokens are not unlocked yet.”

Investors’ anxiety with Trump’s memecoin may be justified. The coin’s entry into the market was tumultuous, skyrocketing from $1.21 to $75.35 within its first two days, reaching a total market cap of $14 billion. But the coin’s price began to plummet soon after, and it has lost 90% of its value since Jan. 19. The token’s price now sits at $8.28. 

In the aftermath of the launch, investors lost more than $2 billion, according to an analysis by Chainalysis for The New York Times. Meanwhile, Trump-affiliated entities have produced $350 million in revenue from trading fees and selling the token itself, according to an analysis conducted by the Financial Times

According to the memecoin’s website, two Trump-affiliated entities—CIC Digital and Fight Fight Fight—will own 80% of the 1 billion total $Trump tokens once they are all unlocked in 2028. That would mean, at its current price, Trump’s team stands to walk away from the project with a profit in the billions of dollars. 

It’s unclear how much of the token Trump and his family own directly, if at all. 

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



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