Source: FN
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen welcomed the ASEAN-EU Business Council’s statement.
The statement is true and reflects real situation in Cambodia, the premier said while receiving a courtesy call from representative of the ASEAN-EU Business Council on Thursday in Brussels.
In the worst scenario, the premier said that if EBA was withdrawn, Cambodian will continue to export, but with taxes increased. He added that Cambodia will not have any measures to impose on European companies; the delegation just wants to tell EU the truths.
The ASEAN-EU Business Council’s representative, on behalf of the 400 companies in EU, stressed that in the case that EBA withdrawals realized, it will pose negative impacts to all the businesses from EU. In such case, representatives of all the businesses from EU will meet with the European Commission to discuss the challenges.
He added that if the EU really withdraws EBA preferences from Cambodia, the 400 businesses in Europe will consider the European Commission a “Political tool against Cambodia”.
According to the Business Council, once EBA preferences were withdrawn, goods’ fees will increase by 12% which will result in great losses to many areas in Europe.
Recently, the chairmen of the international chambers of commerce, including the European Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia, the French Cambodian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIFC), the German Companies Group in Cambodia (ADW), North European Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia (NordCham), and Italian Business Association in Cambodia addressed a special letter to Cecilia Malmstrom, European Trade Commissioner, in the protest against the withdrawal of Everything But Arms (EBA) schemes from Cambodia.
“Taking into consideration the role to represent growing European business community and our responsibility to increase European investment in Cambodia, we can stress with certainty that a suspension of the EBA arrangement risks having long term negative impacts […],” EuroCham wrote in the letter representing more than 50,000 employees.
“EuroCHAM would like to take the opportunity to meet you on the occasion of the ASEM Summit in Brussels, at your convenience, in order to discuss the situation in Cambodia and the concerns of the European private sector,” according to the letter dated on 15 October 2018.