Chinese companies appear to be trying to dodge the tariffs imposed by the United States as part of a punishing trade war by redirecting their shipments through Cambodia.
“The trade war between China and the United States dealt a blow to the Chinese economy and many of my friends back in mainland China are looking at whether they can use Cambodia as a transit spot to escape those tariffs,” said Kong Linghu, manager of Enterex (Cambodia) Industrial Co, a Taiwanese firm that established a base in the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) in Cambodia in 2015.
“Although Cambodia’s certificate of origin requires only 40 per cent of a product to be originated from the country, it’s still a relatively high bar,” said Kong, whose company mostly makes car parts for export to Europe.
