EU Announces Partial Cancellation Of Tariff Preferences For Kampuchea Products

The European Commission announced on the evening of February 12th that the European Union would partially cancel the "total exemption (EBA)" of the weapons except for weapons, involving some clothing and footwear valued at about 1 billion euros, as well as all travel commodities and sugar products, accounting for 1/5 of Kampuchea's total exports to Europe because of the serious and systematic violation of the relevant provisions of human rights and other aspects related to the tariff preferences agreement in Kampuchea on February 12th evening. The statement pointed out that if the European Parliament and the European Council did not raise objections, the decision would take effect from August 12, 2020.

The European Commission launched the relevant procedures for the cancellation of EBA treatment in Kampuchea in February 2019. During the period, EU and Cambodia sent delegations to investigate and communicate many times. Although the EU recognizes that Kampuchea has made some progress in terms of labor rights and land disputes, it insists that there are serious violations of political rights.

For the EU decision, the Ministry of foreign affairs and international cooperation of Kampuchea issued a statement on the evening of 12, expressing regret for the partial cancellation of the EBA decision made by the European Commission. The Ministry of foreign affairs of Cambodia said that the arbitrary judgment of the "serious and systematic violation" claimed by the European Commission is a misunderstanding and misjudgement of the true situation of Kampuchea. The decision to withdraw is not objective and fair, and adopts double standards and full of political motives. The Ministry of foreign affairs of Cambodia said that sovereignty issues were not allowed to be negotiated, and that Kampuchea would not compromise on this principle issue in exchange for development assistance. The Cambodian government refuses any external forces to interfere in Kampuchea's internal affairs on the premise of trade and development assistance.

Speaking at a regular press conference in February 12th, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, said that China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and opposed the use of trade means to interfere in other countries' internal affairs. China supports the efforts of the government and people of Kampuchea to safeguard sovereignty and independence and national dignity, and is willing to provide positive help for the steady development of Cambodia and the improvement of people's livelihood. It also hopes that the international community will make more constructive contributions to this.

In the recent economic forecast made by the Ministry of Finance and economics of Kampuchea, the partial withdrawal of EBA has been regarded as one of the risks of economic slowdown. It is considered that the economic growth rate of Kampuchea in 2020 may drop to 6.1%.