Tommy Koh and the United States–Singapore Free Trade Agreement (A)

James K. Sebenius; Laurence A. Green

Case | 2014

Tommy Koh and the United States–Singapore Free Trade Agreement (A)

by James K. Sebenius and Laurence A. Green

Abstract

The efforts of Singapore Ambassador-At-Large Tommy Koh to negotiate the United States-Singapore Free Trade agreement are explored with an in-depth focus on Koh's management of various fronts of a multiparty negotiation over a sustained period. After briefly describing Ambassador Koh's background, this case describes the underlying reasons for Singapore's desire to reach a free trade agreement with the United States and the barriers to that agreement. Ambassador Koh received the 2014 Program on Negotiation "Great Negotiator" Award.

Keywords: Agreements and Arrangements; International Relations; Trade; United States; Singapore;

Language: English

Format: Print

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Citation:

Sebenius, James K., and Laurence A. Green. "Tommy Koh and the United States–Singapore Free Trade Agreement (A)." Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School Case, 2014.

In 1976, a growing crisis in Southern Africa drew the attention of United States Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger. White Rhodesian leader Ian Smith's refusal to accede to black majority rule threatened to widen into a regional conflict involving apartheid South Africa and newly independent leftist African states. Kissinger and others feared that the region was on the brink of becoming a new battleground in the Cold War. In light of these developments Kissinger decided to intervene, seeking a negotiated solution that might bring about a peaceful end to minority rule. The account in this case carefully describes—but does not analyze nor draw lessons from—these challenging circumstances.

In 1976, United States Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger conducted a series of intricate, multiparty negotiations in Southern Africa to persuade white Rhodesian leader Ian Smith to accede to black majority rule. Conducted near the end of President Gerald Ford’s term in office and against substantial U.S. domestic opposition, Kissinger’s efforts culminated in Smith’s public announcement that he would accept majority rule within two years. This set the stage for the later Lancaster House negotiations that resulted in the actual transition to black majority rule. The account in this case carefully describes—but does not analyze nor draw lessons from—these challenging negotiations.

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Tommy Koh and the United States–Singapore Free Trade Agreement (A)

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