EU WITHDRAWS CUSTOM BENEFITS FROM CAMBODIA

The European Commission has decided to strip away part of the customs benefits conceded by the European Union to Cambodia, after the conclusion that political authorities in the country want to prevent the opposition from running in equal terms in the upcoming elections.

Thus, the country will have to pay tariffs over exports of certain types of clothes and shoes. So far, Cambodia availed of a zero-tariff benefit in the scope of the Everything but Arms (EBA) programme.

The decision will impact the thousand million euro worth of exports from Cambodia into the European Union, and shall come into force on August 12^th.

Josep Borrell, European Union Minister for Foreign Affairs, stated that “the duration, scale and impact of the violation of the rights to political participation and freedom of expression and association in Cambodia left no choice for the European Union but to partially withdraw its benefits.”

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen has responded saying that the country shall not “submit” to foreign directives. “We want to be friends and partners with all the countries in the world, but if they don’t understand us and want to pressure us, we shall not agree”, concluded Hun Sen.