Bandara, A.S.G.S.Wijerathna, K.D.M.S.B.2025-11-132025-11-132020https://ir.lib.pdn.ac.lk/handle/20.500.14444/6600Introduction : Today, the future of globalization has become the world's most powerful ideology over the past few decades. At a time, when the Western world is stuck in a transitional period of deciding whether to move away from neo- liberalism with globalization or move forward with it, Sri Lanka's current foreign trade policy helps to make some decisions regarding the economic conditions. Sri Lanka enters into international trade agreements with other countries in accordance with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) agreements enacted within the WTO mechanism. Currently, bilateral and multilateral trade agreements have been signed with the objective of enhancing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Sri Lanka, linking global products and values, promoting trade between countries and enhancing economic cooperation. They are the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), the Indo Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA), the Sri Lanka-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (SPFTA), the Multilateral Sectorial Free Trade Agreement for Technical and Economic Cooperation in the Bay of Bengal (BIMSTEC) and the Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA). Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) have already been signed by Sri Lanka. Various parties have expressed varying views on the Sri Lanka- Singapore Free Trade Agreement. This agreement is set to take Sri Lanka to a critical juncture in the economy of South Asia. It is the first free trade agreement signed by Sri Lanka in ten years, and is the first comprehensive free trade agreement signed by Sri Lanka, including trade in goods and services. It is also Sri Lanka's first free trade agreement with a Southeast Asian country. The agreement is primarily for service investment, sanitation and biometric operations, removal of technical barriers to trade, trade assistance and dispute resolution, provision of customs relations and trade facilities, economic and technical cooperation, government planning, e-commerce and intellectual property rights. Singapore is Sri Lanka's 8th largest trading partner, according to the 2018 Central Bank report. In terms of commodity trade, Singapore is not a highly important export market for Sri Lanka. At present Sri Lanka exports to Singapore only parts for electrical and electronics manufacturing, machinery, minerals, apparel, food and beverages and tobacco. The agreement opens up more opportunities for Sri Lanka to export men's T-shirts and women's clothing, jersey, rubber tires, special men’s wear, pepper, light utensils, electric ovens, vulcanized rubber products, gemstones and semi-precious stones. Singapore is currently the 7th largest investor in Sri Lanka. More than 119 Singaporean companies currently operating in Sri Lanka have invested about US $ 658 million in Sri Lanka from 2005 to the third quarter of 2017 (Central Bank of Sri Lanka, 2018). Singapore has invested in IT, real estate, manufacturing, construction, renewable energy and pharmaceuticals. Although the primary objectives of the Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement are to attract foreign direct investment to Sri Lanka's manufacturing and services sectors, and to engage with global product and value chains, many have expressed a number of critical views on the matter. Some of those critical views are the impact on local industrialists, the risk of losing government tax revenue, and whether foreigners can come to work in the country. In this context, it is a timely necessity to analyze what its objectives really are under a political-economic approach.en-USFree trade agreementExportImportPolitical economyArticle