Reporter
Olivia Subandi
April 14, 2025 | 03:52 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A restaurant in Chinatown, Singapore, has gone viral on social media after making a controversial announcement. As reported by Channel News Asia, the restaurant announced it would impose an additional 104 percent charge on visitors from the United States.
The announcement, written in English and Mandarin, was posted on the front door of Xie Lao Song restaurant on Pagoda Street. The message reads, “Starting from Apr 9, 2025, Americans will be charged a 104 per cent surcharge when dining at this restaurant.” Shortly after going viral, the restaurant removed the announcement board.
The announcement came shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump implemented a 104 percent import tariff on goods from China last Wednesday, April 9, 2025.
The Xie Lao Song restaurant had removed the announcement board on Friday. Both the restaurant staff and its owners refused to provide comments.
The 104 percent surcharge on American customers has sparked various comments. A TikTok video featuring the announcement has been watched over 400,000 times and received over 1,700 comments. On Reddit, a post about this issue has gathered more than 2,800 votes.
While many internet users have condemned the surcharge as discriminatory, others have questioned whether such practices are prohibited by Singaporean law.
Trump imposed import tariffs on several countries, including Singapore. Imported goods from Singapore are subject to a 10 percent duty in the U.S.
Due to the imposition of import tariffs, Singapore is expected to grow less in 2025 than originally estimated. Singapore has revised its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for 2025 to 0 percent to 2 percent.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has also eased monetary policy for the second consecutive time due to increasing economic concerns arising from the trade war between the U.S. and China.
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