27-05-2025
US tariffs not yet a disaster to worry about in Cambodia: TAFTAC
Reciprocal US tariffs have started affecting a bit production chains in Cambodia, but they are yet to turn a disaster to worry about, according to Kaing Monika, deputy secretary general of the Textile, Apparel, Footwear and Travel Goods Association in Cambodia (TAFTAC).
'There is definitely a panic, especially among the exporters here, as about 40 per cent of the Kingdom's exports go to the US,' Monika said addressing a forum on 'Cambodia's economy in the context of US reciprocal tariffs' at the Cambodia-Korea Cooperation Centre in Phnom Penh recently.
Reciprocal US tariffs have started affecting a bit production chains in Cambodia, but they are yet to turn a disaster to worry about, says Kaing Monika, deputy secretary general of trade body TAFTAC. The Commerce Ministry feels diversification of export markets is the long-term solution and Cambodian goods have sufficient added value, even if the raw materials are sourced from other countries.
Cambodian businesses are hopeful as the second round of negotiations between the two sides over reciprocal tariffs is set to start, he was cited as saying by a domestic media outlet.
Penn Sovicheat, secretary of state and spokesman of the Commerce Ministry, said diversification of export markets remains the long-term solution.
Regarding the origin of goods, Sovicheat said goods produced in Cambodia have sufficient added value to be considered Cambodian products, even if the raw materials are sourced from other countries.
The principle of sufficient value-added is applied by the European Union and the United Kingdom to Cambodian goods and falls under the ASEAN cumulation principle, which considers goods as domestic if they use raw materials from countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and are fully produced with local labour, he added.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
