At a recently held meeting between Cambodia and Britain, the sole topic on the table was the much-anticipated Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries following ‘Brexit’. The Cambodian Commerce Minister Pan Sorasak pushed for a speedy deal in a bid to strengthen their bilateral trade and economic ties during the meet.
British Ambassador to Cambodia Bill Longhurst has advised the Minister to wait until the end of 2016 or early next year to get a confirmation on whether Cambodia needs to sign the FTA with Britain or whether the current tariff-free agreement with the EU under the ‘Everything but Arms’ agreement will be sufficient in terms of trade between the two countries.
Also Read – EU remains largest importer of Cambodia’s garment & footwear
Kaing Monika, Deputy Secretary General of Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) is of the opinion that Cambodia will not feel a direct impact of Brexit, for the time being, despite it being one of the main destinations for the country’s garment exports as it accounts for about 45 per cent of Cambodia’s total garment exports.
It may be mentioned here that bilateral trade between Cambodia and Britain rose from about US $ 749.01 million in 2013 to US $ 807 million in 2014, according to the Ministry of Commerce, Cambodia.
