Senior government official, textile union and prominent local investor are convinced that the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) granted to Cambodia by the UK will make up the partial withdrawal of the Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme from the country by the European Union.
Sok Sopheak, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Commerce shared that Cambodia will discuss with the UK counterpart on the import and export process both during and after the COVID-19 crisis.
The GSP granted to Cambodia by the UK, he continued, will contribute vitally to Cambodia to bounce back economically, following the crunch driven by the COVID-19.
Mr Kaing Monika, Deputy Secretary General for the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) applauded the move, highlighting that with the GSP, Cambodia will be entitled to duty-free and quota-free access on exports to the UK of all goods, except arms and ammunition.
Oknha Lim Heng, Vice President of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce sees this as an opportunity for Cambodia to motivate existing investors and attract the new ones, especially those in textile, footwear, milled rice, and bicycle production.
For 2019, bilateral trade between Cambodia and the UK was worth about $1 billion, and for the first 3 months of 2020 Cambodia exported around $200 million – $190 million of which were textile products – to the country. Lim Nary – AKP
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
