ABSTRACT
Singapore is a tiny island state. The area is about 225 square miles. It has no natural resources except its superb location, yet its growth record has been impressive. Merchants have traded in South East Asia for more than two thousand years. Singapore, located at the end of the 'Golden Cheronese' of Peninsular Malaya, became one of the main ports of call for adventurers, navigators, pilgrims, and traders by 1820. The free trade policy remained practically unchanged until early 1960. There were no export duties, and import duties were very low. According to Edwards, in the early 1900s the main purpose for imposing import duties was to control the import and production of intoxicating liquor and opium. With this free port policy, entrepot trade contributed greatly to the development of Singapore. Tariff protection was used as a means of stimulating industrialisation in Singapore.
