In a speech inaugurating a new Phnom Penh stadium on Sunday, which came during a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Hun Sen reiterated the bonds of “steel” between China and Cambodia.
A week after Thailand blocked the exports of Cambodian longan in Battambang due to Covid-19 fears, a trader says hundreds of tons of the local fruit are at risk of spoiling.
Economists say the standardizing of regulations in 15 countries that signed a regional free-trade deal could make it attractive for companies to operate in or relocate to low-cost countries like Cambodia.
The government must ensure the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement has the nation’s and the people’s interests at heart, and both improves the country’s economic competitiveness and garners Chinese investment that produces local jobs.
Cambodia’s pandemic-hit garment industry took another blow on Wednesday, losing some of its duty-free trade access to the E.U., with the bloc noting that the government had failed to make political reforms to avoid the penalties.
Two weeks ahead of Europe raising tariffs on Cambodia over human-rights concerns, officials explained the finalization of a free-trade deal with China as being about expanding the range of Cambodian exports, not making up for the loss.
Cambodia’s duty-free trade access to the European market was partially withdrawn by the E.U. on Wednesday over “serious and systematic” human rights violations by Cambodia, the European Commission said.
A union’s petition blaming the government for the potential loss of Cambodia’s duty-free trade access to the E.U. was rejected by the prime minister’s cabinet.
Possible E.U. trade sanctions, rising indebtedness and slowing foreign investment — which “peaked” last year — pose substantial risks to the Cambodian economy despite continuing strong growth, the World Bank said in its latest country update.
The European Union has called on Cambodia to protect labor and human rights associated with land titling, press freedom, political participation, trade union organizing for teachers and informal workers, and other areas of concern, in order to keep its duty-free trade access to the bloc.
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