The European Union Commission on Wednesday is expected to announce its decision on whether to suspend the “Everything But Arms” (EBA) trade privileges, a crucial mechanism that supports Cambodian exports of garments, footwear and rice and has aided in the country’s economic growth.
Speculation has been rife in Phnom Penh over the outcome of the year-long investigation, initiated by the EU Commission last February, with government officials, analysts, economists and average Cambodians all chiming in on the effects of a potential suspension.
A document on the European Parliament website, authored by Italian MEP Danilo Oscar Lancini, proposing amendments to conclusions of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, may have accidentally revealed the Commission’s decision – a partial suspension of the EBA for “some products.”
