Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday pledged to cut taxes for up to a year for garment producers impacted by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic and facing new tariffs after the European Union suspended preferential trade status for the country citing rights violations.
Speaking during a conference at the Council of Ministers in the capital Phnom Penh, Hun Sen also announced tax exemptions for hotels and guesthouses for four months that have seen tourist numbers drop precipitously amidst the spread of the virus, which has killed more than 2,600 people—mostly in China—and infected hundreds in more than 30 countries and territories.
Hun Sen said that Cambodia’s garment sector has been unable to import raw materials from China amid supply chain disruptions attributed to COVID-19, as well as the loss of about 20 percent of trade preferences under the EU’s “Everything But Arms” (EBA) scheme, which amount to around U.S. $1.1 billion of the country’s annual exports.
In full: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/taxes-02242020172254.html
