Phnom Penh (FN), Oct. 12 - The withdrawal of Everything But Arms (EBA) on Cambodian goods has become a hot topic which the opposition tried to mislead the public, while the Cambodian government considered the case politically motivated.

According to Cambodian garment expert, the consideration to withdraw EBA is not as serious as misled by the opposition.

“It’s just the beginning of a year long process, and even the decision to set in motion the formal investigation procedure & monitoring has not been made yet. The formal Commission decision is expected at the end of this year or early next year. And at this point, nobody can guarantee what the outcome will be and whether it will result in complete suspension of the trade preference or partial suspension or no suspension at all. [Any opinion about the results of the process is pure speculation],” Kaing Monika, deputy secretary general at the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) wrote on his Facebook on Friday.

“At the moment, what we are more concern is rather the [media speculation] leading to reduced buyers and investors’ confidence, while the actual situation might be less frightening. There’s a timeframe of one year and the door is still open for both parties to have a meaningful & productive dialogue to bring about an amicable solution with mutual respect,” he continued.

“And for the garment and shoes sectors, I personally feel safe, basing the fact on our recognized good performance in term of working condition improvements and Labour right respect in compliance with our local law and core international Labour standards & Conventions. [We have lifted millions of poor women and their families out of poverty, and I don’t think the EU would like to put those people back to poverty of their past [back to poverty of their past.],” he added.

According to Ministry of Commerce, in the first half of 2018, Cambodia earned $4,143 million from exporting garment products, an increase of 11% compared to the same period in 2017.
=FRESH NEWS