Cambodia's $7 billion garment sector - the country's largest employer with 800,000, mostly female, workers - was dealt a double blow this year by the coronavirus pandemic and by European Union tariffs imposed over human rights abuses.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn expressed his appreciation for the decision by the UK, calling it a good move for Cambodia’s workers.
In the last two weeks, the number of cases has grown to 40, and the government has ordered people to stay home as much as possible, leaving shopping malls and local markets largely empty.
Almost 90 percent of the workers said they and their families were eating less, with most expecting to cut back even further.
RCEP, will a Biden-led US return to international trade deals?
The deal was signed virtually in a special online meeting Sunday on the sidelines of the summit of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
“I believe history repeats itself in the case of the E.U.’s withdrawal of the E.B.A. at a time when Cambodia struggles to survive amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” read a copy of the speech.
Prime Minister Hun Sen allocates $1.2 billion to compensate for losses under ‘Everything But Arms’ preferences.
In September, the ADB had revised its April estimate of a 5.5 percent contraction in the economy, severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, to a slightly better four percent contraction.
Loss of EU trade preferences and a pandemic punish Cambodia’s garment industry.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there were “credible reports” that Dara Sakor “could be used to host (Chinese) military assets.”
The country's fruits and vegetables can meet only 70% of local demand, and the rest must be imported, especially from Thailand and Vietnam, according to agriculture statistics compiled by the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia.
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