Cambodia Is The Fifth Largest Garment Exporter to America

Thanks to the American Congressmen who have wisely taken the course of Cambodian salvation. The law that provides a duty-free access to the American market for Cambodia's garment producers would boost jobs for the Cambodian people. Garment export has been a lifeline for Cambodia for the last 13 years or so. It is a single largest industry that provide more than 300,000 jobs to young Cambodians. With the zero tariff on most garments from Cambodia it would act as a magnet to attract more garment investors to Cambodia. This could happen only if the Cambodian authority can cut bureaucratic red tape and corruption. America has paved the way for the influx of foreign investors to Cambodia. Cambodia has to do its part to facilitate that influx by cutting bureaucracy and corruption and make it easy for foreign companies to set up shops in Cambodia. I hope Cambodian leaders will wake up to the fact that Cambodian interests are above all else!!!!

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Cambodian garment producers predicted pivotal benefits upon the U.S. Congress' possible approval of a draft law to offer extensive duty-free access for garments produced in the kingdom, local media said on Tuesday.

"I think the bill will put us in a better position to compete with Vietnam and China," Ken Loo, secretary general of the Cambodian Garment Manufacturers Association, was quoted by English- Khmer language newspaper the Cambodian Daily as saying.

The bill, dubbed the New Partnership for Development Act and currently in the house for debate, would eliminate tariffs on trousers, shirts and coats imported at 2007 levels from Cambodian and Bangladesh.

According to an anonymous official at the Cambodian Commerce Ministry, a seven-member ministry delegation in its July visit to the U.S. detected no strong opposition in Washington to providing preferential access to Cambodian garments.

Cambodia, now the fifth largest exporter of garments to the U.S. , has lobbied U.S. lawmakers to reduce tariffs on clothing produced here, fearing that the competition from other countries could reduce Cambodia's U.S. market share.

In the first five months of 2007, Cambodian clothing exports went up by 17.9 percent, generating revenues of 984.9 million U.S. dollars, of which 738.28 million U.S. dollars came from the exports to the U.S., said official figures.

Garment has been the kingdom's largest pillar industry, which used to make up more than 70 percent of its export volumes.

Source: Xinhua