The report states that foreign firms were providing significantly more wage jobs, despite locally-owned firms far outnumbering foreign companies. The report showed that 80 percent of Cambodian adults above the age of 15 were working in contrast to 62.5 percent of adults in the East Asia Pacific
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Koy Kuong said the government will attempt to address all the points of concern raised by the European Union but refrained from divulging any details.
The European Union has threatened the preferential trade terms which Cambodia gets through its Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme that gives 47 of the world’s poorest countries duty-free, quota-free access for all products except arms and ammunition.
The European Chamber of Commerce estimates that 90,000 jobs would be at risk if the EU suspended special trade preferences over Cambodia’s record on democracy and human rights
The trade scheme is critical to Cambodia’s garment and footwear sector, which employs nearly one million people
Almost all Cambodian-made goods now enter EU duty-free; revocation of nation’s status would be disaster for villagers dependent on income from work in garment factories
Regionally, Cambodia fared better than Lao PDR and Myanmar, but was considerably lagging compared to its neighbors, Thailand and Vietnam
China is asking the World Trade Organization for the right to impose $2.4 billion in annual penalties on the United States in a case over Chinese subsidies dating back several years
The Garment Workers Association estimates that three million people would be impacted if Cambodia’s status changes, from the vendors outside factories who sell meals, to those in the microfinance sector who have loaned garment workers money because of their seemingly stable income
The slump increases pressure on Chinese leaders to avert politically dangerous job losses as they fight a tariff war, and it has global repercussions
The initial deal was announced on Friday by US President Donald Trump and included promises to increase purchases of US farm products and protections for intellectual property - but lacked specific details
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