With wages lower than China's, Cambodia sees hope for more garment exports to Washington

Steve Wilhelm

Staff Writer-Puget Sound Business Journal

Email  |  Twitter

Enlarge Photo

Steve Wilhelm photo

Cambodian Minister of Commerce Chanthol Sun, left, and U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia William Todd at Seattle's Fairmont Olympic Hotel on Tuesday. Trade between Washington state and Cambodia is relatively small, but Sun sees potential.

Wages in Cambodia are about one-third the level of those paid in China. And that's part of why Cambodian Minister of Commerce Chanthol Sun hopes to win more connections between his country’s economy and that of Washington state.

“We’re hoping by furthering the ties and relationships, we can build on those relationships and have further commerce between the state of Washington, and Cambodia,” he said during a visit to Seattle this week.

Sun, accompanied by U.S. ambassador to Cambodia William Todd, visited Seattle on Tuesday as part of a delegation of 18 business and other leaders from Cambodia. It’s been fewer than 15 years since their nation emerged from the repression of the former Pol Pot regime.

Garment imports could be one potential area of growth. Washington is home to a number of large garment importers, including Union Bay, Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN), Tommy Bahama and REI. Cambodia already employs 600,000 people in its garment industry, and exports $5 billion in garments every year.

Trade between Washington state and Cambodia is small: The Southeast Asian nation ranked 85th among export destinations for Washington goods, according to the World Institute for Strategic Economic Research, in Massachusetts.

But Sun sees potential, and points out that Washington’s population of Cambodian-born people, about 20,000, is the third largest of any U.S. states, after California and Massachusetts.

His delegation's visit to the Seattle area followed a visit to California. Next stop: Washington, D.C.

“The visit here is to expand trade and investment; we believe trade and investment will create jobs, not only for Cambodia but also the U.S.,” he said. “The more trade you do, the more investments you get, you create jobs for Cambodians and American people.”

Sun is not unfamiliar with the U.S. He attended both Harvard University and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, winning advanced degrees at both.

While in the Seattle area, Sun visitedMicrosoft Corp., partly because that company has an office in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.

He didn’t visit Boeing, because Cambodia’s national flag carrier is a joint venture with Vietnam Airlines, and the latter buys Airbus planes.

“Not to say they will not purchase Boeing,” Sun said. “The 777 would be a great airplane to add to the fleet of national flag carrier of Cambodia.”