The President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia (AmCham Cambodia), Casey Barnett, has called for a solution to the new US tariffs on Cambodia to avoid a “deep economic crisis” after US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on countries around the world on Thursday, April 3 (April 2 in the United States).
Reacting to the latest developments, Casey posted on Facebook: “This morning, Trump announced a 49% tariff increase on Cambodian goods. If not addressed seriously this week, it will destroy the Cambodian economy and create a deep economic crisis, hundreds of thousands of job losses, social instability, and rapid capital outflows.”
In response to Cambodia Thmey’s question, the same expert said: “The United States is open to negotiations, but the deadline is April 9, so Cambodia must urgently reach a solution. The 49 per cent new tariff rate is expected to be the new minimum tariff on the country for all goods, but does not include existing tariffs.” He continued: “The main reason the United States imposed tariffs on Cambodia is that Cambodia ranks 18th in the world, the country with the highest trade surplus with the United States, and the United States believes that Cambodia’s tariff rates and trade barriers are disproportionately high compared to what the United States imposes on Cambodia.”
Cassey explained in his message: “The 97 per cent figure (referring to Cambodia’s tariff rate on the US) is the average tariff that Cambodia charges the US. It probably comes from the US tariffs on new and used cars in Cambodia, which are over 100 per cent. When calculating the average, they consider the volume of goods in dollars, not the average rate by product type.”
In addition, Cassey suggested that “Cambodia imports only $350 million worth of goods from the United States,” so it would not be a big loss if the Cambodian government “allowed all U.S. goods to be imported duty-free and quickly granted licenses to U.S. businesses like Starlink.”
At this point, he highlighted: “Cambodia exported $12.8 billion to the US in 2024, while Cambodia imported only $0.3 billion from the US. So for me, the solution is simple: allow the US to export to Cambodia duty-free for four years, with the option to change after that. Cambodia will lose $0.3 billion in tariffs, but Cambodia will gain $12.8 billion in revenue.”
0 Comments