Last year, the United States imposed sweeping tariffs on its trade partners worldwide, including those in Southeast Asia. The tariffs, which went as high as 49 percent, were based largely on the size of each country’s bilateral trade surplus with the United States. This means Singapore is actually running a total trade deficit with the United States of about $45.5 billion. Beyond trade, Singapore is also a crucial destination for U.S. investment in the region. Trump’s first attempt to tariff the region was knocked down by the Supreme Court, but not before several countries signed lopsided trade agreements.