Cambodian government officials have different views on US tariffs on Cambodian goods

By The Cambodia Daily
April 7, 2025

Senior Cambodian government officials are at odds over the US tariff hike, while civil society and opposition party officials are expressing concerns about the economic risks to Cambodia from the issue.

After Donald Trump decided to increase tariffs on goods imported into the US market by 49%, Cambodian government officials spoke differently about the issue, including Minister of Commerce Cham Nimol speaking in a special interview about the US tariff hike on Cambodian goods on April 4, she said that the first affected by this tariff hike is the US, which is the buyer, and then it will affect businesses in Cambodia.

Ms. Cham Nimman calls on citizens not to be afraid and not to doubt the government’s solution to the current situation in which the US government has announced a tariff increase of 49% on Cambodia, because the government is paying great attention to this work.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Commerce spokesman Pen Sovicheat acknowledged that the tariff increase would affect Cambodia’s economy, but not significantly.

Separately, Minister of Labor and Vocational Training Heng Sour claims that this tax increase will not 100% affect Cambodian exports to the US market while Cambodian workers and citizens are only partially affected, overall Cambodia can still manage.
CENTRAL’s Labor Rights Manager Khun Tharo said on April 4 that Cambodia has no trade balance or weight to fight with the United States over the tariff increase.
This senior civil society official stated that what Cambodia needs to do urgently now is to change its diplomatic attitude to negotiate with the United States only under the condition of safeguarding Cambodia’s national economic interests even if you have to bend down a bit, as the Khmer proverb says, “Bow down to put the seed, and you will be saved.”

In a rush to request tariff reductions from the United States, Prime Minister Hun Manet sent a letter to President Donald Trump requesting negotiations, appointing Minister of Commerce Cham Nimol as the lead negotiator.

In the letter, Hun Manet called Trump “the esteemed and respected President.” He said he wanted to maintain long-term bilateral trade relations and that the maximum agreed tariff rate on 19 types of goods from the United States will be reduced from 35% to only 5% soon.

It is noteworthy that the Cambodian side has requested negotiations, but has not yet reached an agreement. Hun Manet has already lowered tariffs for the United States, claiming that he will be committed to strengthening relations between the two countries even deeper.