The Cambodian government is shoring up its finances as the withdrawal of some European Union trade preferences leaves its mark on an economy already struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic and an exodus of Western businesses.
Hardest hit is the $7 billion garment, textiles and footwear industry, where about 700,000 workers earn a basic $190 a month, including $7 for transportation and rent, producing for big name brands such as Levis Strauss, H&M, and Adidas, six days a week.
The government has allocated a $1.2 billion spending package to help offset losses from the partial withdrawal of trade preferences under the ‘Everything But Arms’ program — which provides duty- and quota-free access to the EU market for all products other than arms — that went into effect last month and the impact of the pandemic which has taken a heavy toll on a once-thriving industry.
